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

My question is to the Prime Minister. It is 20 years since the invasion of Iraq on the basis of the preposterous lie that Saddam Hussein possessed an immense arsenal of weapons of mass destruction and was cooperating will Al-Qaeda. Prime Minister, will you help to prevent such unconscionable disasters in future by bringing Australia into line with countries like the US, the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands where declaring war is the prerogative of the parliament, not the Prime Minister?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Clark for his question and for his consistent advocacy on national security issues. Of course, he had a career in the intelligence community. Decisions about war and the deployment of Australian forces are among the most serious that any government can make, and I have made clear my own view that parliamentarians should be given the chance to express their views following a cabinet decision to go to war. We have referred the issue to an inquiry now being conducted by the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. As the member for Clark said, there are different forms of determination in different parliaments around the world.

There were two days of parliamentary debate that Bob Hawke allowed after his cabinet decided to join the first Gulf War, but the member for Clark is right to say that, 20 years on from the Iraq War, we can all reflect on the many tragedies of that conflict and its ongoing effects. Our thoughts are with the people of Iraq, as well as the Iraqi community here in Australia, some of whom fled that conflict. Our thoughts are also with the men and women of the Australian Defence Force. They obey, appropriately, the instructions of the government of the day, and I note that Labor opposed that intervention. Simon Crean, I think courageously, went and farewelled the troops, to make it very clear that he opposed the government's decision, but he supported them, as we must always do in this parliament.

I want to conclude by saying that I acknowledge the brave contribution and sacrifices that were made by the ADF and civilian personnel who conducted or supported operations in Iraq. We do remember, as well, those Australian service personnel who died and their families, and we all share our deepest sympathies with their families who would still be feeling their loss.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

on indulgence—I want to support the words of the Prime Minister with regard to the support of our troops. There are decisions that governments make that are not agreed with or are supported, depending on the circumstances in relation to committing troops to a conflict. Today, on the 20th anniversary, I want to pay respect to all those men and women who wore the uniform of our country and represented us in our country's name at the direction of the government of the day. They were involved in combat operations, in counterinsurgency, in the training of Iraqi security forces, in national reconstruction and in humanitarian work. Today I think it's particularly appropriate that we remember the fallen.

We remember Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel. Paul was a dual citizen who served with both the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Air Force. In 2005 the RAF plane he was travelling in was attacked and crashed, killing all 10 on board. We also remember Trooper Matthew Millhouse. In 2004 Matthew's armoured vehicle was hit by an IED. Coming to after being knocked unconscious, he helped his injured mates and, as a result of that terrible incident, Matthew would later be diagnosed with early onset dementia which cost him his life in 2015. We also remember David Nary. David was a member of the SAS who served in operations in East Timor and in Afghanistan in his country's name. During 2005 there was a live-fire training exercise in Kuwait while preparing for deployment to Iraq, and David was tragically killed after being accidentally hit by a vehicle. We also remember Private Jacob Kovco, part of a security detachment which was protecting Australian officials at our embassy in Baghdad. Heartbreakingly in 2006 he was killed after an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound. We also remember Australia's first casualty in Iraq was Jacob. We remember Squadron Leader Garry Doecke. He was a chaplain of the Royal Australian Air Force, and he provided great support to those men and women around him. We remember all of those who today still suffer the scars, having returned from that conflict, and we recognise the fact that all of them fought in their country's name at their country's direction to keep us safe where we live here in Australia.