Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Canning for bringing this important motion to the House. I want to start by stating something that I am sure that every Labor speaker will reaffirm—that Labor well and truly supports the alliance. In fact, we are proud of the alliance. I want to spend my time reflecting on the coalition's approach to this alliance, because I think that is where fruitful discussion can be had. My premise is that the coalition has fundamentally misunderstood the nature of this alliance and that that is reflected in some disastrous foreign policy decisions.

I am proud of the alliance because the alliance really started under Labor, with this quote from the greatest Australian Prime Minister ever, Prime Minister John Curtin, who stated in 1941:

Without any inhibitions of any kind, I make it quite clear that Australia looks to America, free of any pangs as to our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom.

No truer word could be spoken by Australia's greatest Prime Minister. This was in the context of him taking over from Prime Minister Menzies, a man who spent four months in the United Kingdom in the darkest days of World War II and who had repeatedly failed to stand up Winston Churchill—something no-one could ever accuse John Curtin of. In fact, John Curtin famously stood up to Churchill and insisted on the return of the 9th Division of the AIF from the Middle East to Australia—

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