Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

who are concerned about the position in Iraq and do not want to see that country descend into further chaos: ‘Of course we are going to leave all the combat troops there. We are going to make sure that the embassies are guarded et cetera.’ If you read the entrails and try to work out which side of the street Labor is actually walking on this issue, you find that there is not much of a withdrawal proposed by Labor apparently. Yet at the same time it says, ‘We must get out of Iraq.’ It is impossible to try to navigate your way through what on earth the Labor position is on this matter. It is a matter of enormous importance not only to Australia but also to our alliance with United States and to the global war on terror.

Our position is absolutely clear. We are committed to maintaining our forces in Iraq as long as they are required to ensure peace and stability in that country. We are not going to leave the Iraqi people in their time of need. We are not going to leave our most important ally at the time of their need. We do note what Mr Cheney said in his remarks. As the Prime Minister said, we note that Mr Cheney is a diplomat and did not want to interfere in Australian domestic politics. But we have absolutely no doubt that a precipitate withdrawal by Australia, which on one day of the week Mr Rudd apparently supports, would do damage to that alliance. It would be very damaging to our relationship with our most important ally, the United States.

As to the position of Great Britain, as the opposition well knows, this is a reduction in troops from some 7,000-plus to 5,000-plus. The UK will continue to have nearly 10 times the number of combat troops in Iraq that we have. They are reducing their numbers in the province for which they have been responsible for the very reason that they have been successful in restoring some peace and stability to the province in which they have been operating. The Labor Party well knows that the most difficult security situation in Iraq is in Baghdad. That is why the US appropriately and properly is increasing its commitment to ensure peace and stability in Baghdad. The British troop obligation has been in Basra, where conditions warrant the reduction in numbers. I note that, at the same time, the UK is planning a significant increase in its commitment to Afghanistan to assist the allies in the war on terror. So our position is absolutely clear. We stay until the job is done. We are not going to have a precipitate withdrawal, which is apparently today the Labor Party’s policy.