Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Here is a little bit of short-term history for the minister and Senator Brandis. Last week, it was reported in the paper that Hugh White, one of our country's pre-eminent defence experts, had come out and said that, if there were a conflict in North Korea, Australia would very likely provide military assistance. He talked about F/A-18F Super Hornets, Growlers and submarines. It only took a day for Mr Tony Abbott to be out there goading the Prime Minister by saying we need a missile shield, a missile defence system, in this country. This is the internal politics that's going to get us in trouble. This is why the executive say they need the power, and this is why it's dangerous: because of politics. Who thinks Mr Donald Trump is any different? What's he doing with North Korea on Twitter and social media? He's shoring up his position in his domestic audience. This is about his votes and his power back in America. This is why it's dangerous, and this is why we need a parliamentary debate.

Only recently, this chamber commemorated the Great War. I see Senator Sterle here. I know he's been over to the battlefields of World War I, as I have. I wonder what we've learned in recent weeks when I see the reckless escalation in rhetoric by the US President, our supposed ally. And then I see the reckless escalation of this debate by Mr Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull, saying that we would go to war along with the US if it came to a conflict in North Korea. What have we learned? When I think about World War I, the best explanation I've been given for World War I was by Blackadder, when Baldrick said to him, 'Sir, why are we in this terrible war?' He said, 'Baldrick, because it was too hard just not to have one.' That's exactly what The Economist said this week when they published their story on North Korea: their key concern is it's going to be too hard not to have a conflict. Both sides have escalated this to a point where there's no going back. And the headline on The Economist said 'This could happen', with a picture of a nuclear cloud and our two fearless leaders' heads in the nuclear cloud.

I can tell you from my weekend in quiet Launceston that, for the people I spoke to at the markets and the football game I went to, this is the only thing they wanted to talk to me about. Australians are very worried about this. They expect us in parliament to be having this debate. They want the people that they voted for to represent them to help make these decisions.

We have long fought and campaigned for war powers reform in this country, and there's a whole chorus of voices joining the Greens to make sure that we actually get this. Now is the time to be questioning our ANZUS alliance. If not now, when? With a lunatic running the Western world and a lunatic with his nuclear weapons up in Pyongyang, why are we putting our faith in Donald Trump? That's what the ANZUS alliance does: it relies on us to come to the assistance of the US.

Let me give you the words of Malcolm Fraser, Senator Brandis—through you, Chair. His last book that he wrote before he passed away was on the ANZUS alliance and why we needed to revisit it. Do you know what he said? He said that it's ironic and true that, if Australia were to be invaded or attacked, we would need the US to defend us. But what is ironic about that? It is because of the US that we'll probably be attacked. I'll let you stop and think about that. That's the unassailable logic that we are dealing with here, and it's our job as senators and MPs to debate this on behalf of the Australian people. We're not going to back off on war powers reform.

Senator Brandis, you're absolutely right, as is the defence minister, Minister Payne: there can be no more serious a decision than to send Australians off to harm's way and to war. That is a decision that should be taken away from cabinet, with its toxic internal politics, and put to the Australian people through their representatives who voted for us. We speak to the Australian people—as I did on the weekend and no doubt many other people in here did—we represent them in parliament, not the executive. No executive anywhere is going to want to give up power. But I tell you what: this is an issue that is bigger than politics. This is the most serious we can confront. We need to debate it in here and we need to vote on ANZUS and our foreign deployment. (Time expired)