history

ABOUT US

ABOUT PEACE

ROLE OF AN MFP

Ministry for Peace Australia Ltd

Australia first called for a Ministry for Peace in 1937 through the voice of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. This call was sounded again in 1982 when Dr. Stella Cornelius, for the United Nations Association of Australia (UNAA), launched a vigorous campaign for a Ministry for Peace at an Australian Federal Government level.

"An Australian Campaign for a Ministry for Peace- A Worldpeace Initiative," published in 1984 (ISBN 0 9499652 02 4) was written by Dr. Keith D. Suter as a result of Stella's campaign for a Ministry for Peace. In the book's acknowledgements Dr Suter says:

"The inspiration behind this book came initially from Stella Cornelius. It was through the work of the UNAA Peace Program, that the Ministry proposal first arose and Stella, more than any other person, has been responsible for maintaining the momentum behind the campaign.
This is a fitting opportunity to thank Stella for her work generally in the cause of peace as well as congratulating her specifically on the Ministry for Peace campaign."

Dr. Stella Cornelius is the founder of the Conflict Resolution Network (CRN) in Australia of which she is still a co-director. One of CRN's major achievements is to give free access (through their website) to a wide range of training materials thereby establishing an invaluable resource for the world wide Conflict Resolution movement. From 1984 -1986 Stella served the Australian Government as Director of the UN International Year of Peace 1986.

Stella Cornelius (in 1983) proposed that a Ministry for Peace be established in order to administer an Australian World Peace program and, in 1984, the Department of Foreign Affairs established a Peace & Disarmament section under the leadership of Tonia Shand. Since this time the Conflict Resolution Network has maintained the initiative and never lost sight of the vision of a Ministry for Peace.

In 1983 our Department of Foreign Affairs appointed Mr. Richard Butler as the first Ambassador for Disarmament. This initiative was to improve government/community communications by the regular publication of a Disarmament Newsletter. The Department of Foreign Affairs made an initial grant toward the establishment of Australian peace research. Together with the Department of Education it made a commitment to Peace Education. This was largely influenced by the work of Professor Frank Hutchinson and his wife Lyn Waddell, both of whom continue to be engaged in innovative initiatives in this field. (Professor Hutchinson author of "Educating Beyond Violent Futures" Routledge London 1996)

The Early Years

From 2001