SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
CONCLUSION OF THE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
ON AUSTRALIA" S SUPPORT FOR THE UNITED NATIONS ACTION IN THE
PERSIAN GULF
22 JANUARY 1991
Mr Speaker,
The last two days of parliamentary debate have-& bIe:
historic significance. This Parliament has exhaustively
debated one of the most serious issues ever to come before
it: the commitment of the Australian armed forces to
support military action authorised by the United Nations in
the Gulf.
I want at the outset to express my thanks to all those who
have contributed to this debate, regardless of their party
affiliation a debate which has lasted more than twenty
hours and has involved more than one hundred speakers. I
realise that this has not been an easy issue for any of us
to confront. For the first time in twenty years, Australian
forces are committed to combat. It will be to the lasting
credit of this Parliament that we have confronted and
debated this issue with realism, patience and a shared
concern for the best interests of the nation.
I am deeply gratified that this resolution will clearly be
passed, and with an overwhelming majority.
In concluding this debate, I want to repeat my thanks to the
Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the National Party,
and the other members of the Opposition who have expressed
their support for Australia's current involvement in the
Gulf. It is vitally important, as we carry out our
responsibilities in the Gulf, that we maintain the shared
spirit of commitment to Australia's national interests that
has characterised this debate.
It is important because we need to send a coherent and
strong message to the world.
This message will fortify our serving personnel on board the
-Briañ J2na, the. -Syd= e and the -unesaz.
This message will encourage our allies in the United Nations
coalition, including those who have already in this war lost
men and materiel. In the morning I will be meeting with the
heads of mission of all countries who are taking action in
support of the UN resolutions on the Gulf and conveying to
them the strength of this Parliament's support for those
resolutions.
This message will, with its specific condemnation of Iraq's
unprovoked attack on Israel, tell the people of Israel of
this Parliament's sympathy with them at this time of crisis,
and of our respect for the restraint which they have
displayed over recent days.
This message will underline our concern that once this
crisis is over there will be intensified efforts to
establish peace and stability in the Middle East including
a just resolution of the Palestinian issue and the
continuing security of Israel.
And it will underline very clearly and decisively the
support of this Parliament for the resolute way this crisis
has been handled by the United Nations, in defence of the
principles of national sovereignty and collective security.
Mr speaker,
It is also important that we send a clear message to the
people of Australia.
Because as I said yesterday, it is important as we confront
this crisis in Iraq that every Australian understand the
facts of the situation.
The message we will be sending to the people of Australia,
with the passage of this resolution, will be a message that
regardless of the widespread and innate distaste we all feel
for war regardless of the hazards being undergone by our
armed forces in the Gulf we see support for this
resolution as thoroughly and intrinsically consistent with
our highest duties as the elected representatives of the
people of Australia.
The allied nations did not want this war; we did not start
this war. We tried hard to resolve the dispute by
diplomacy. We have only with the greatest reluctance and
deepest regret resorted to the military option.
And the majority of Australians understand the magnitude of
Iraq's challenge to the world community and the importance
of our campaign to meet and overcome that challenge.
Compassion and sorrow, including for the Iraqi people, are
not the exclusive preserve of those who oppose the war but
are shared by this Government and by all Australians.
It would, of course, be much easier if we could simply sit
this out on the grounds that war is terrible.
But we Members of Parliament, least of all people, cannot
abrogate our responsibilities and opt for the easy arguments
with which some may feel more naturally comfortable. We owe
it to ourselves and to our fellow citizens to examine with
intellectual rigour this very complex situation.
Throughout the history of humankind, some have found it
easier to go to war than others. And it has not always been
true that those who found it easiest were necessarily the
wisest. Let me say that I understand that those members who
have said they cannot bring themselves to support this
resolution have spoken from the heart. But this grave issue
requires not just the heart but the head.
As previous speakers have acknowledged, the stakes in this
conflict are very high, not only for Kuwait but for all
countries, great and small, who may depend on a system of
collective security for national survival.
If this system fails us now, at its first major test against
aggression, the consequences for our security are disturbing
indeed. I might mention here my disappointment at the comments of
some opponents of Australia's stance who, while previously
stressing the importance of United Nations mechanisms
involving international disputes, have now abandoned that
approach at the very time the UN is proving to be an
effective body.
Let me remind Honourable Members, as I did in my statement
to this Parliament on 4 December, of Dr Evatt's prescient
view about the obligations of nations in circumstances such
as we face today. In 1945 he said:
' It must: be made crystal clear that the nations seeking
representation in the world's organisation must be
prepared to contribute their share of physical force to
restrain the action of proved aggressors.'
It was crystal clear in 1945, and it remains so today. This
country did riot question its truth then, nor should it now.
Mr Speaker,
Both the Leader of the opposition and the Leader of the
National Party made mention of the Government's White Paper
on Defence and questioned its adequacy as a framework for
Australia's policy in the light of the current crisis and
its global diLmensions.
On the contrary, the White Paper explicitly recognised that
we may need to deploy forces far from Australia's shores,
and ensured that the Australian-. Defence Forces would be able
to meet that threat.
Paragraph 1.17 of the White Paper explicitly states, and I
quote: ' Options will always be available to Australian
governments fEor assistance to allies.... The type of
Australian force structure required to protect our interests
in our area of military interest entails substantial
capabilities for operations further afield. For example,
our guided miLssile frigates ( FFGs) equipped with Seahawk
helicopters are capable of effective participation in a US
carrier battle group well distant from Australia's shores.'
That is precisely what our ships are doing in the Gulf.
The fact that we were able to respond swiftly and
appropriately to this present crisis in itself demonstrates,
I believe, that our defence framework is right and
appropriate to Australia's needs.
Mr Speaker,
This Government firmly believes that we have taken the right
decision on behalf of the Australian people.
The news of each passing day confirms that belief. Most
recently, we have been treated to the news that Saddam
Hussein's abuses of international conventions have reached
new depths with his threats to use allied prisoners of war
in Iraq as human shields at strategic sites.
It is difficult to find words which adequately express our
outrage at this latest development. Iraq's treatment of
prisoners of war is in blatant breach of the Geneva
Convention and is against natural human decency.
This parliamentary resolution is one way, an important way,
in which we can demonstrate, as a nation, where we stand in
this dispute with this dictator. It is a way of sending a
signal to the world.
Mr Speaker,
I take this opportunity to pay tribute to those Australian
men and women serving in our embassies in the region,
especially those in Riyadh, Tel Aviv and Amman, and, until
just before the fighting began, in Baghdad itself. In
Riyadh and Tel Aviv, of course, our staff have been hearing
the missiles fall.
At considerable risk to their own safety, these staff have
been working throughout the conflict to try to ensure the
safety of fellow Australians who remain in the region. I am
sure that all members of this Parliament join me in
acknowledging their courage and professionalism.
Mr Speaker,
The 1990s began with the highest of hopes that peace would
be given a chance; that former superpower rivalries and
tensions would give way to a new world order of co-operation
among nations, one in which ordinary men and women could get
on with their lives and enjoy the fruits which a peaceful
world can bring.
Saddam Hussein's great crime is that he is destroying these
hopes. If he is not stopped, the decade, the twentieth
century, will end in hopes darkened and aggression again
triumphant. Young Australian defence personnel are in the Gulf to stop
this happening. It is important that they know that this
Parliament and the overwhelming majority of the Australian
population are fully behind them.
By supporting this resolution today, members of this
Parliament will, on behalf of all Australians, demonstrate
their understanding and support for the task these
Australians are to perform.