John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Oh yes, they have. They have talked about them just being symbolically present. They have talked about them not doing very much at all. The reality is that they are doing good things for the people of Iraq and, while they continue to do good things for the people of Iraq, and until the Iraqi people can look after themselves, I believe they should stay. That is our policy. I know that when you ask Hawker Britton, ‘Is it a popular policy?’ they come back to you and say, ‘No, it is not a popular policy,’ and that of course is the basis on which the Leader of the Opposition has made his policy on Iraq. It is a Hawker Britton policy. It is not a Rudd-Gillard policy. I just say to the Leader of the Opposition that this is too serious a group of matters to be determined by a public relations firm; they ought to be determined by the national interest of our country.

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