Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes with concern:

  (i) recent revelations about Senator Molan's personal views, particularly his support of racist material through social media,

  (ii) allegations that Senator Molan, as Chief of Operations for Coalition Forces in Iraq, oversaw the deprivation of food, water and humanitarian supplies to civilians during the second coalition assault on the city of Fallujah, and

  (iii) the failure of successive Australian Governments to initiate any inquiry into how and why the Howard Government decided to go to war in Iraq, and Australia's actions in that war;

(b) further notes that such an inquiry has long been supported by eminent Australians, including a former Prime Minister, a former Secretary of the Department of Defence, and a former Chief of the Australian Defence Force; and

(c) calls on all parties to support a long overdue inquiry into Australia's involvement in the Iraq war.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This motion is an unwarranted attack on a distinguished military leader, for which the Greens should be ashamed. Australian Defence Force personnel conduct themselves to the highest standards, in accordance with strict rules of engagement, designed to protect our forces and minimise civil injury, and act in accordance with domestic and international law. The Iraqi and coalition offensive to liberate Fallujah, in late 2004, was a tough, complex and hard-fought battle. The circumstances in which Australia committed forces to the coalition effort in Iraq are a matter of public record and have been subject to parliamentary inquiry. The Australian Defence Force operates under strict rules of engagement in accordance with domestic and international law.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The opposition will not be supporting this motion. The opposition does not support an inquiry into Australia's involvement in the Iraq War. We've been clear about our position on the material shared by Senator Molan on social media. There is no excuse for propagating racist, bigoted posts from white supremacist organisation Britain First or any other organisation. The Prime Minister must break his silence, show some leadership and call on Senator Molan to apologise for his actions. However, the actions by the Australian Greens in seeking to make baseless allegations against the senator through a notice of motion are nothing more than a self-serving stunt. The opposition will not be any party to a motion that trivialises serious issues in order for the Greens to score cheap political points.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If Senator McGrath were so sure of his position, then why on earth would he not support an inquiry to confirm that position? If he were so sure of his position that the invasion of Iraq was not a political, strategic and humanitarian catastrophe—if he were absolutely sure that the invasion of Iraq was warranted—then he would be happy to support an inquiry so that we can learn the lessons of the past.

Just today we learnt that Senator Molan has posted more offensive material. This time it appears that he shared an offensive joke, and I'm not going to repeat it. How many more times do we need to be aware of this behaviour before he is rebuked by the Prime Minister? As I said yesterday, we saw the UK Prime Minister rebuke President Trump for sharing similarly offensive material. We need an inquiry into the Iraq War. It is now time for the coalition and the Labor Party to stop blocking it so that we can learn the lessons of the past.

Question negatived.