Cameron Thompson (Blair, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Again, it is a privilege to speak in the House on this debate, particularly after having been so greatly informed of the situation in Iraq when I joined the member for Cook and members from both sides of the parliament for that visit to Iraq in October last year. It was a tremendous privilege to go to that country and to see the tremendous work that is being done on our behalf by Australian service men and women. It is extremely impressive.

The comments from my colleague the member for Cook need to be reiterated. The high degree of professionalism and the outstanding nature and calibre of our service men and women really puts them head and shoulders above everyone else in that theatre. I am not exaggerating when I say that. During the time we were there we had briefings from corporals—not colonels or people at the top of the tree but just people there to do the job, corporals operating some of those wonderful ASLAV vehicles and those sorts of things—that you would really expect from someone out of a staff college. They were that well informed on the performance of the vehicle, the requirements and the safety aspects. It was really impressive that that is the average standard of people within our Defence Force, that they are able to present so effectively and to be so ‘situationally aware’—I think that is the military term. They are absolutely familiar with the environment in which they are fighting. They are absolutely committed to the goals that they are seeking. And they are absolutely confident of their own abilities and the abilities of the equipment they are using to achieve those goals. That was the overwhelming experience of everyone who went on that trip, regardless of what side of the House they came from.

Like the member for Cook, I would like to give thanks to Commodore Geoff Ledger, Captain Trevor Jones of the HMAS Newcastle, Lieutenant Colonel Roger Noble and Howard Brown. I would also like to give thanks to that very well-drilled military police close protection unit that followed us through the theatre and looked after us all the way there. During the time we were there we got to experience first hand the activities of people involved in the P3C surveillance of the gulf and overland Iraq. I got to fly with the member for Swan on a P3C for eight hours over that environment. Having looked at it through the high-tech gizmos and equipment that exist on that aircraft, I can say it is incredibly powerful in its ability to offer surveillance and to pass on effective intelligence to people on the ground. I think my understanding of that theatre has been greatly boosted by my experience on board that aircraft.

I also met members of the security detachment based in Baghdad whose job it is to protect our diplomats and people who might go there representing the people of Australia. They do a magnificent job. They are very well drilled in the operation of the Bushmaster vehicles and the ASLAVs. They are using them in an environment that is very hazardous. But, as I said earlier, the equipment that they are provided with, the ASLAVs and the Bushmasters, is head and shoulders above the Humvees and the Land Rovers that people from other forces are driving. Our troops know it and they are very pleased and proud to be operating with that degree of force support from Australian taxpayers and with the good wishes of the Australian people in general.

I want to talk about the fact that we visited the Al Muthanna task force area at Camp Smitty. We got to see the troops and the wonderful work that they are undertaking there in direct consultation with the local community. We met the Governor of the Al Muthanna province. His vision for the future of that area is stunning. This is a person who wants to see crops in the ground again and wants to see them flourishing. As we found out when we hopped on the helicopters and flew from Camp Smitty up to Baghdad, this is not a country that is all desert. It is a country that has a huge area of irrigable land. There is huge potential for Iraqis to grow crops of their own. There is great potential only if the jackboot of Saddam Hussein is permanently removed from their necks and they are able to proceed in a democratic fashion with the liberation of their country and the sharing of the tremendous wealth among the people of that country.

In our time in Baghdad we met the speaker of the parliament, Hajim Al-Hassani, and the two deputy speakers. I was very impressed that we got to see those people and members of the Iraqi Transitional National Assembly’s foreign relations committee. I would be proud to have those people as members of our parliament, because their strong belief in democracy, their fervent desire to see it delivered to their country, is a wonderful beacon for those of us in Australia who may from time to time become jaded with the benefits of democracy. That is not the case in Iraq. Those people strive for and desire democracy. It is wonderful that our troops are setting out to go and help them deliver it.

I mentioned the speaker and the deputy speakers. I want to note that one of the deputy speakers—we met the two of them—Hussain al-Shahristani, is a very impressive man. He is a nuclear scientist who was jailed and tortured after refusing to design an atom bomb for Saddam Hussein. He has been promoted in the ministry that has just been announced and has been declared the oil minister for Iraq. I congratulate him. I congratulate the people of Iraq on the formation of this wonderful new government to take them forward.

We arrived in that country immediately after the referendum. It was put to the people of Iraq: ‘Do you want to proceed with this democratic process?’ They all put their thumbs on a bit of paper, saying, ‘Yes, we do.’ Fifteen million of them turned out and said, ‘Yes, we do.’ That is an incredibly powerful commitment to democracy by the Iraqi people. Three times now they have turned out, in the face of insurgents, terrorists and people who are trying to deny them the freedom of democracy and have put their thumbs on a bit of paper and have gone ahead. The vote that we were there for was the referendum to proceed. Now we are seeing the government of Iraq forming, establishing itself. It is a wonderful time. If people get that self-determination, if the principles of democracy finally take hold and start to flourish, there will be such a strong advance in benefits for the people of Iraq. All our troops in Iraq are going to be so pleased when that happens, because the long fought for freedoms and benefits that Iraqis seek will at last manifest themselves.

In the face of that, one of the things that absolutely bamboozles me—and I really feel upset and concerned about it—is the failure of the United Nations to actively participate in this process, particularly now that the Iraqi people have turned out three times and said, ‘Yes, this is what we want.’ They are not getting the international commitment to democracy that I think they are entitled to expect. Where is the commitment of the United Nations, of the international community, to people like Hajim Al-Hassani, who is prepared to put himself up as the speaker of the parliament? Where is the commitment to that person who stared down Saddam Hussein when Saddam Hussein wanted him to build him a bomb? That person has gone on to become the oil minister. These are good people who are striving to do good things in a country that really can provide tremendous benefits to its people, if only they are given the opportunity to share in its wealth. That is the opportunity that presents itself now.

I would like to finish by talking about our view from the chopper. When we took off from Al Muthanna province and flew all the way to Baghdad at 60 feet from the ground, what did we see out of the window? We saw an incredible expanse of irrigated crops—very small crops, just the size of someone’s backyard. We went for two hours at that altitude and all we saw was water and irrigated crops. The potential in that country is not just date palms and oil and that’s about it; it is hugely complex. Iraq has a highly trained and skilled workforce. It has great underlying opportunities, and it is about time that the international community banded together and allowed the Iraqi people to realise the country’s potential. I am very proud that our country is participating in Iraq. I am very proud that we took the stand that we did in the first place and that—thank heavens—the Americans and the British did the same thing. Now is the time for the world community to come out, get behind it and help drive it forward.

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