Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I inform the House that today at the front of Parliament House there will be a rally of Christians from Western Sydney and across New South Wales. The rally will be calling for a safe haven in the Nineveh plains region of northern Iraq. I have spoken on this subject several times in this parliament. Last year I seconded a motion in support of an autonomous province in northern Iraq, a safe haven for Iraq's indigenous Christian community. The reason for this was the persecution then faced by Iraqi Christians, including the Syrians, Chaldeans, Mandeans and Syriacs. This situation is not new. Last year I said that, if nothing is done, the Christian community in Iraq, after more than 2,000 years of significant presence, may disappear altogether. Those words are even more relevant today.

We are seeing a threat unlike anything we have seen for the last several hundred years. We have seen the depravity of the IS terrorists. We have seen what they do not only to Christians but also to people of Islamic faith. We are seeing before our very eyes a new genocide of the Christian communities.

If we are going to address this issue we must acknowledge the true evil of these people. They are nothing more than a criminal band of terrorists. As I said, they murder both Christians and Muslims. These are not the types of groups that you can sit down and negotiate with. We congratulate and encourage the humanitarian aid that has been offered, and Australia has proudly been part of that. We are thankful that we have been able to provide extra places for refugees from these communities. But ultimately, if we are going to tackle this threat, force will be needed as it has been so many times through the history of the world. The freedom that many people enjoy—and we here in Australia—sometimes has to be won and protected with the point of a gun. The same applies today in northern Iraq.

It is up to all peace-loving people throughout the world to join together to take on this group of terrorists. The world needs to help Iraq, but for those Christian communities in northern Iraq there is a glimmer of hope. Even though they have been forced to leave their homes and to leave their possessions, they still maintain their faith. That glimmer of hope is in a future Iraq where there is an autonomous province where they can live in peace and safety.