Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for his update. He is quite correct to thank our ADF personnel on behalf of the whole parliament because there is no doubt that all of us here in the House of Representatives and all of those in the other place share his gratitude for their fine work. The minister has provided a very important update today—important information about how our participation in Operation OKRA against Daesh in Iraq, and now in Syrian airspace, is progressing, including details of the first Air Task Group strike against Daesh targets in eastern Syria and the 408 ADF airstrike missions over Iraq.

The majority of our overseas personnel are in the Middle East with Operation OKRA, but also with operations including Operation MANITOU, pursuing maritime security, stability and prosperity—the training advice and assistance mission—Operation HIGHROAD in Afghanistan and Operation ACCORDION, providing broader support. The minister has also said we have our servicemen and servicewomen doing sterling work in peacekeeping operations around the globe, in our region and on our borders. We thank all of those serving personnel.

Without question, Daesh uses horrific means in an effort to reach abominable ends. The world is united against Daesh, and those living in the territory they control are subject to an oppressive and terrorising regime that is almost unimaginable. Much has been written about the cruelty of this organisation. One recent article—pointed out to me by the member for Melbourne Ports—says it all, an article titled 'ISIS enshrines a theology of rape' in The New York Times on 13 August 2015. We continue to be ready to work with the government to ensure an appropriate and bipartisan approach to dealing with this organisation and to national security matters in general.

As well as the important information the minister has provided today on current deployments, we believe that there is a requirement to provide information and inform this parliament about a coherent longer term strategy for the Iraq and Syria situation. While the importance and legitimacy of the provision of direct military support to defeat Daesh is certainly acknowledged, we need to understand that a broader political, social and economic strategy will be required to defeat this threat more broadly. Parliament is the place for debates of great national importance, and there is none more important than the deployment of Australian Defence Force personnel. The ADF personnel currently involved in operations throughout the world, and indeed on our borders at home, have Labor's support, whether they are in the Middle East engaging in peacekeeping, deployed on maritime operations or securing those borders. We applaud the great courage, determination and professionalism of our servicemen and servicewomen. We are proud of their high standards of conduct and of their competence. We are also proud of the very high standards that our forces adhere to in their operations.

As Australia is a party to the additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, the ADF is highly skilled at minimising civilian casualties and collateral damage and exercises a positive influence on its coalition partners in this respect. Minimising civilian casualties in these types of operations has a vital influence on the overall success of the mission.

Labor joins with the minister in expressing support and sympathy for the people of France, Kuwait, Tunisia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia who have all suffered shocking attacks in recent times launched by Daesh or its sympathisers. This extension of Operation OKRA into Syria has bipartisan support. Our decision was based on the assessment of facts and guided by our principles. Firstly, there is no more important duty of a government than to keep its people safe. Secondly, it is hard to be secure in an insecure world. Contributing to international peace, security and stability is in our national interest. Thirdly, international cooperation, multilateralism, the rule of law and international institutions are the best way to ensure a secure and stable international order. It is in Australia's national interest to be a good international citizen. Fourthly, human-rights violations, inequality and poverty create the conditions that all too often lead to instability in conflict and are a threat to Australia's long-term interests, wherever they occur.

Our initial support of Operation OKRA was based on both the 'responsibility to protect' doctrine, which we as a member of the international community support, and a legitimate request from the Iraqi government to join with other nations to protect their vulnerable civilians from mass-atrocity crimes. We also formed the view that a legal authority for this support exists through a legitimate request made by the Iraqi government. We take very seriously the Iraqi government's assessment that its aspiration to be a more inclusive and democratic nation, and the modest gains it has made in this direction, would be thoroughly undermined by a strengthened Daesh.

Recently, Iraq specifically requested international support to defend itself against cross-border attacks by Daesh that the Syrian government is either unable or unwilling to prevent. By doing so, Iraq has established legal authority under the principle of collective self-defence. Labor sought its own advice on the application of the principle, and we agree that it applies. We recognise the legal basis for crossing the border into Syria.

We are reassured that Australia continues to use its red-card system, which has seen Australian forces very successfully minimise the risk of civilian casualties during operations in the Middle East. We are thankful that there have been no Australian casualties and will work to ensure that risks to our personnel are sensibly assessed and addressed to keep them safe. Our bipartisan support for the extension of Operation OKRA was contingent on combat search-and-rescue arrangements being in place for any of our personnel whose aircraft might be downed. We have been assured that is the case.

We note also the minister's update on the situation in Afghanistan and we thank him for it. We join with him in hoping for a successful reconciliation process. We welcome the news of the graduation of the first female cadet platoon, from the Afghan National Army Officer Training Academy, in June. The fact that the Duntroon Sword for best overall cadet was won by a female officer cadet is a symbol of the change Afghanistan has undergone. It is a sign of real progress, progress that we hope continues. With 400 ADF personnel in Afghanistan as part of Operation HIGHROAD we note the minister's reference to 2016 commitments and we look forward to working with him to apply the same fact based values guided principles that we use when considering our support for any changes to our commitments overseas. We look forward to consultation in this area.

The length and cost of our commitment to Afghanistan has been great. The 41 lives lost, most particularly, weigh heavily on us. There have been 33,000 deployed ADF personnel since 2001, and 261 ADF personnel physical wounded and others psychologically injured. Our thoughts are always with the families and friends of those we have lost, and the wounded and their families and friends are in our thoughts as well.

We stand ready to cooperate fully with the government in exploring initiatives to analyse and address the difficulties some of our veterans experience on returning home, including struggling with mental-health problems and, in some cases, homelessness. It is incumbent on us, having asked our military to sacrifice so much and risk everything on our behalf, to look after them when they come home.

I note the minister's assurance that RAAF efforts in eastern Syria are being directed at Daesh alone and we will not be engaging in the broader conflict in Syria. The situation in Syria—as the minister has said on more than one occasion—is complex. There are no simple solutions. What is needed is an international effort to bring the partners in the conflict and, very importantly, the forces behind them—arming them, supplying them, funding them—to the table. There must be a political solution. There must also be a greater humanitarian response from the world. Humanitarian corridors for the delivery of aid—urgently required food and non-food items, such as medicine—are needed.

Our objectives for the Middle East must be more than just defeating Daesh. In Iraq our involvement must be to allow Iraq to stand on its own two feet, by supporting internal efforts toward peace and security. As part of the overall strategic plan for Iraq it is clear that an essential key to success is the reinforcement of good governance, the rule of law and an inclusive polity that garners the loyalty and support of the disparate interests in Iraq.

It was the exploitation of the grievances of the Sunni community and the inefficiency, corruption and poor standards of parts of the government and parts of the Iraqi security forces that provided the fertile ground for Daesh to exploit. It is vital that Australia provide assistance to the government of Mr al-Abadi to enable him to pursue and deliver his ambitious reform agenda. This is our hope, for the people of Iraq, for a stable and secure future. Such a stable and secure future will make it possible for Iraq to defend itself and its people against extremist threats, within and without, and insurrections without such substantial international military presence.

Australia has a consequential influence in the world, and the role our military plays must be matched by renewed efforts toward a long-term multilateral strategy to resolve the Syrian conflict. We should recall that Australia has played a role in brokering peace out of seemingly intractable conflict before—not that we can do it ourselves but we should play a part. The Australian peace proposal for Cambodia produced a durable and lasting peace in that country.

We have been calling on the government to outline to parliament its long-term strategy for the defence of Iraq and allow for appropriate parliamentary discussion. I hope that the new Prime Minister will do so. Our previous commitments to Iraq, in 1991 and in 2003, were the subject of substantial parliamentary debate. There has, to date, been no significant parliamentary debate initiated by the government on the issues of either Iraq or Syria.

I am aware that the immigration minister is about to make a statement on Australia's response to the Syrian humanitarian crisis and my colleague the shadow minister for immigration will respond to that. But let me just say that we urge the government to match our military support with an increased commitment to humanitarian assistance. It is clear that the United Nations, relief agencies and NGOs are struggling to cope with the situation in Syria and that the neighbouring countries that are bearing the greatest responsibility for caring for refugees are struggling to cope.

Labor welcomes the fact that 12,000 more people will be given refuge in Australia. We have seen the efforts that Europe has made, and we believe that countries in the region, closer to Syria, should also do more. We welcome the $44 million in assistance promised to the UNHCR but we believe $100 million would been a more reasonable figure this year. We are grateful to the minister for updating us on the military deployments not just in Iraq in Syria but wherever we have ADF personnel around the world.

We thank the minister for his update. This is the fifth ministerial statement regarding ADF operations since the election of this government two year ago. We hope the frequency of these updates will continue, if not increase. It would be wonderful if we could receive quarterly updates on these deployments.

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