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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 12 Hansard (13 November) . . Page.. 3557 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

I might briefly address Mr Hargreaves' circulated amendment to substitute "not sanctioned by the United Nations". I would hope the United Nations will sanction it, and it seems they may well do so. But there is the veto. It does not take very much for the UN not to be able to sanction appropriate action. The only reason the UN intervened in Korea was that the Soviet delegate, because of some crisis, was away the weekend the UN met and the veto was not used in the Security Council. If it had been, the action in Korea would not have been a UN-sanctioned action.

Unfortunately, UN processes are so cumbersome that it may not be possible to get everyone to agree on appropriate action. One would hope that they would agree. The signs are that maybe they would, but they may not. That is the fallacy in Mr Hargreaves' amendment.

Unfortunately, we do live in a very unstable world. There are bullies around. There are countries and people who still feel that they can get away with using brute force to achieve their ends. Over the last 100 years or so we in Australia have shown that we are prepared to be part of an alliance that is dedicated to better ideals such as freedom of mankind. (Extension of time granted.)

We have been part of the Western alliance. We have contributed to a number of wars, the biggest in more recent times being World War II, when quite clearly the forces of Nazi Germany and the forces of Imperial Japan, had they won, would have imposed a very different type of world order, one I do not think any of us would have been particularly keen to live in.

We are an English-speaking democracy. Our values are very similar to those of the United States and Great Britain. That is something we cannot escape, or should want to. Those fundamental values have led to significant advances in humankind over the last couple of hundred years.

Our contribution would be somewhat limited because of our very small armed forces. But we did make a small contribution to the Gulf War. No doubt if war on Iraq does become inevitable we will make a small contribution. I know our people would acquit themselves well. We all hope that that will not be necessary.

This motion will not help the situation. It is something the federal government will decide. It is looking at the gravity of the situation. It is pulling out all stops to exhaust diplomatic efforts. Everyone seems to be doing that to try to get a peaceful resolution of the crisis. But at the end of the day that may not be possible. I do not think it would be right for us to attempt to fetter the actions of our national government by motions such as this.

At 5.00 pm, in accordance with standing order 34, the debate was interrupted. The motion for the adjournment of the Assembly having been put and negatived, the debate was resumed.

MR STEFANIAK: I hope that any further action will be sanctioned by the UN. Given the UN's history, that may not be possible. I would hope that as a result of the current UN resolution Saddam Hussein will back down at the 11th hour and allow in the inspectors. We all fervently hope that happens. But if those two things do not happen,

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