As far back as 1975, inspired by two months with the Friends Committee on National Legislation in Washington, I had a vision of developing something similar in Australia.  When the Jan de Voogd funds became available in 2024, we saw an opportunity to extend the work of the Quaker Peace and Legislation Committee’s (QPLC) activities into closer relationships with Federal Members of Parliament.

QPLC’s appointment of Jessica Morrison was very appropriate, given her extensive work both with ICAN and APAN giving Jessica the opportunity to develop very good relationships with many members of federal parliament.

The initial funding allowed us to employ Jessica for two days a week for 18 months.  It seemed a bold idea that we could strengthen Quaker links with federal parliament in that time.  Was I wrong?  Indeed.

Since Jessica began in May last year, she and QPLC members have had discussions with 23 Members and Senators or their senior staff from the Government, Opposition, and the cross bench. We’ve also had meetings with both the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Defence. From these meetings, it was unfortunately abundantly clear that there was no appetite to reduce the Australian arms trade. However, when we turned the focus towards the question of selling weapons to countries when we don’t know if they may be involved in human rights abuses, that raised the concern of many.

QPLC, which has covered more than 70 different peace and justice related issues in the past, took some time to discern a key issue that Jessica could focus on and on which we might make an impact.  We agreed on a campaign to increase the transparency of Australia’s arms exports- as an issue deeply aligned with Quaker concerns, as well as one with a tangible short-term goal.

We connected with former diplomats who’ve been involved in these issues.  We received invaluable advice from Peter Woolcott, a former Ambassador in Geneva, who had been centrally involved in the development of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) in 2012/13 and was the keynote speaker at the conference marking the Treaty’s 10^th year anniversary. Similarly, another key Australian diplomat involved in the Arms Trade Treaty has been John Tilemann, and after meeting with us, he agreed to write an opinion piece about his views which was subsequently published in the Canberra Times.

When we began the project, our hope was for some conversations with parliamentarians, without expecting very much movement on the issue in the time we had been working on it. Again, I was wrong.

We engaged with an independent member of the House, a former Coalition member.  After hearing us out, he asked Questions on Notice in Parliament.  This opportunity was only made possible because of the strong relationship Jessica had developed through her work in Parliament House in previous years.

QPLC was able to facilitate a dinner in Parliament House where a number of parliamentarians were able to meet and hear from an expert commentator discussing what might be possible. That occasion was an ideal chance to engage more members in an informal setting with our concern. Another cross-bench parliamentarian was deeply concerned about what we shared about the lack of accountability, and made a referral to the Australian National Audit Office. In a very exciting development, the issue of defence permits has now made it to the draft work plan of the Office, a significant milestone in getting this issue on the national agenda.

In addition to all this parliamentary activity, Jessica felt it important to engage the broader community.  As a result, we have been connecting with a number of Australian NGOs with experience and concern in this area. Responses have been very positive, suggesting that we are likely to have strong support from the community sector. We have also connected with international arms experts including from WILPF and Control Arms and QUNO’s staff including former Director David Attwood who have given us tremendous advice.

We have just finished our draft report and a summary brief about the issue – which we will use to engage the new parliament.

With such a successful first year, QPLC are keen to continue the project into the future. We have been grateful to receive some funds from Quaker funds that have allowed us to continue Jessica’s employment for the immediate future – but we’re keen to establish funding for a three-year period to give Jessica some degree of longer-term employment. We are seeking commitment from individual Friends for contributions of up to $2,000 each year for three years.  If you’d like to partner with us in this exciting work, please contact me at cqplc@quakersaustralia.info