Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My non-repetitive question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Tangney will get on with his question.

Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Would the minister update the House on the Saddam Hussein—

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In the past you have ruled out opposition questions on the basis of a preamble. I ask you to do it now and call the next question.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business is well aware that I called the member for Tangney to get on with his question.

Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Would the minister update the House on the Saddam Hussein trial in Baghdad and testimony—

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Plibersek interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Sydney!

Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I guess I am going to have to repeat my question again. Would the minister update the House on the Saddam Hussein trial in Baghdad and testimony concerning the nature of the former regime?

Alexander Downer (Mayo, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. It is nice to have him ask a question when his predecessor in Tangney is sitting in the gallery—the Hon. Daryl Williams, a great Attorney-General. Saddam Hussein’s trial commenced last October in Baghdad and he and seven of his henchmen are being tried in an Iraqi court. Of course, they are being tried by Iraqis. This is a case of the massacre of 148 people from the village of Dujail following an incident, as it is called, in 1982.

The House will be interested to know that the court sat yesterday. It has previously heard witness testimony. Yesterday it had presented to it several documents, including a presidential order signed by Saddam Hussein in 1984 approving the death sentences of all 148 people and a document signed by his half-brother ordering the execution to take place. Investigators claim that 96 of them were executed and the remainder were liquidated during interrogation. The 148 allegedly included 10 aged between 11 and 17, who were executed later in secret.

This is just one of the many appalling alleged crimes committed by Saddam Hussein’s regime and it is a reminder—not that we need one on this side of the House—of the justice in bringing this cruel regime to an end. On this side of the House, when we think of all the things we have done over the last 10 years, it is one of the things that we are very proud of: that our country made a contribution to getting rid of that regime. In that context, I agreed with the Leader of the Opposition when he said yesterday that Saddam Hussein certainly had a weapons of mass destruction research program. During the course of last month the Leader of the Opposition said he may have actually been building weapons of mass destruction. The Leader of the Opposition also said yesterday: ‘We know for a fact that Saddam was supporting terrorists,’ and of course he has been talking at great length about Saddam rorting sanctions. This was, of course, a deeply corrupt regime. I would only say this—

Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black! Who was corrupting them?

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Melbourne will remove himself under standing order 94(a).

The member for Melbourne then left the chamber.

Alexander Downer (Mayo, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I make two observations. At a time when people like Sir James Killen were members of the House of Representatives, the Labor Party tried to raise $500,000 for the 1975 election campaign from Saddam Hussein’s regime—Blues Point Tower. A curious position for a political party, but perhaps a cynic may say it was no coincidence that, come 2003, the Labor Party did not want to see that hideous regime overthrown.