A military hardware enthusiast’s theme park or support for communities?

Thank you once again for your support for this petition. 

As many of you may have seen in the news, former Australian War Memorial director Brendan Nelson has recently accepted a position as President of Boeing Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Boeing is the world’s second largest arms manufacturer, a close second to Lockheed Martin. Under Brendan Nelson, both these arms manufacturers (amongst others) became sponsors of the War Memorial.

The Australian Medical Association for Prevention of War states that this sponsorship “represents a highly offensive conflict of interest”. (The Association founded the International Campaign To Abolish Nuclear Weapons and were recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017).
 
The private sponsorship of the War Memorial and the embedded relationships between former elected government representatives and the arms industry are notable (and questionable) for numerous reasons. But perhaps these relationships are not surprising when you consider the federal government’s ambition for Australia to become one of the world’s largest arms manufacturers. 

Whilst communities struggle to come to terms with the bushfire devastation in their townships, the damage to their businesses and the natural world, it’s not unfair to question whether this government has a vision for economic activity that is calibrated to the hopes, values and needs of everyday Australians. 
 
What types of economic activity do we wish to see underpinning the future of our country? How can we best deploy Australian scientific and engineering minds to help build a prosperous future? What other economic and job opportunities are on the horizon as the world transitions to cleaner, more sustainable ways of life - and are we well positioned to take advantage of healthy new opportunities? Have we had this debate as a nation or is the direction towards arms manufacturing being quietly set and entrenched by government whilst many of us are distracted with the everyday realities of our lives? 

What is certain is that many people do not support spending $500 million on a military hardware theme park where arms manufacturers show off their wares - when there are greater community needs. This petition is not only an opportunity to raise the level of debate about government funding of the war memorial, but can help to open the conversation about the strategic direction of government and the potential character of our future economy.  

Please continue to share this petition, so we can lift the profile of these issues - almost at 10,000 supporters - but we could do with a lot more.

Thank you.