Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] My question is to the Prime Minister. The governments of Menzies, Holt, McEwen, Gorton and McMahon were responsible for the Vietnam disaster. John Howard took us to war in Iraq on a lie. The Howard, Rudd, Gillard, Abbott and Turnbull governments and your government own the Afghanistan tragedy. In other words, history shows decisions to go to war are not something any government nor PM can be trusted with. Yes, it is important they have authority to deploy the ADF in a crisis, but surely it should be parliament alone with authority to declare and continue war. So, Prime Minister, will you follow the lead of other democracies, reform war powers and ensure it's parliament calling the shots in future?

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