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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 12 Hansard (13 November) . . Page.. 3564 ..

MR HARGREAVES (continuing):

Was it leading the charge, or was it third in line? I do not think so. I will pose a question to the old soldier over the other side. Did we consider Cambodia close enough to invoke the forward defence theory? No, we did not.

Mr Pratt: But we did play a leading role in the UN intervention.

MR HARGREAVES: Mr Pratt says, "We played a leading role."I have to say, nowhere near the leading role John Howard is presently trying to drag us, kicking and screaming into.

At the moment, the other issue is: "Is it our war? Do we in fact back Britain and the United States"-I impute something from what Mr Pratt said-"because the United Nations have no teeth?"If I remember correctly, he said, "How many more resolutions will this guy break? He has broken 17. Will we see 18, 19, 20 and 21? Is that an excuse for us, or for Bush, to say, 'Well, if I do not get my way through the resolutions of the United Nations, I will do it anyway'?"To that, I say a categorical no.

Mr Deputy Speaker, it is not our war. It is not our war to go and start-not at all. We must understand a number of reasons for that, not the least of which is that it is not just the old soldiers who go across and fight. The old chesspiece concept of war disappeared ages ago. The war on terrorism is, in fact, at our back door.

Years ago, I was just a humble little citizen. I am happy to go and have holidays all over the place, if I can. I have a beaut holiday coming up-I am going to take my father to Malaysia for his 75th birthday. My father is afraid to go to Malaysia-we are going anyway-because he is a goose. He is afraid to go there because we are Australians and we are going to a tourist venue in Malaysia, which is an Islamic country.

Why do you think that is? It is because supermouth Howard has shot his mouth off enough that he is frightening the horses, the children and people like my father. I am not impressed with that. I do not want my family dragged into a war that they do not have anything to do with. My father is saying, "When you go through the entry points, don't tell them you are a member of the Legislative Assembly-tell them you are a public servant."That is because it will go down through Chinese whispers. The next thing is that people will think I am a friend of John Howard-shock, horror!-and I might become kidnap bait. It is a bit amusing but I have to tell you, colleagues, it is real.

We have no right to go into any other country and enforce our will, regardless of the regime. We have a structure within which to work, and that structure is the United Nations. I agree it is a bit toothless at the moment. Our attention ought to be given to sharpening the teeth in there. It is not to say, "You have another chance. If you don't do it, bad luck."

You will notice that the amendment I am proposing deletes the unilateral military action by the United States, Britain and ourselves, and substitutes any action which is not sanctioned by the United Nations.

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