Ministerial Statements — Iraq—Military Action

This afternoon President Bush has announced that military action against Iraq is commencing. The Government reiterates here its profound regret that the diplomatic process being conducted in the Security Council, and through the inspection and disarmament process, was unable to run its course. New Zealand strongly backed the work of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, including by sending 13 military personnel to support the weapons inspection team. We continue to hold the view that the inspection process was making good headway, and it is unfortunate that the UN Security Council was unable to agree on its continuation. We have consistently said that only through full compliance with the demands of the Security Council could Iraq have avoided the catastrophe of war.

The fact that Iraq failed to take the opportunity provided to it to cooperate fully with the inspection and disarmament process means that the Iraqi people now face the prospect of serious hardship. The Iraqi leadership must take its full share of responsibility for that. Now that military action has commenced, we clearly have a concern for the welfare of the Iraqi people. For that reason, the sooner that the military action is over, the better it will be. It is the strong wish of the New Zealand Government that peace is restored as quickly as possible, and that the issue of the next steps over Iraq is swiftly brought back into the multilateral arena. At the end of this conflict, which I very much hope will indeed be short, the international community must be ready to contribute to the rebuilding and reconstruction of Iraq, and to humanitarian relief. The Government has this afternoon indicated that it will participate fully in reconstruction and humanitarian efforts, within the umbrella of the multilateral system. Funds have already been pledged to relevant UN agencies, and consideration will be given to whatever further contribution New Zealand can make to the post-conflict challenges that Iraq will face.

The international community was, regrettably, unable to reach common agreement on the best means for disarming Iraq. It is, however, important that the international community now finds a way to come together at the end of this conflict, in order to meet the needs of the Iraqi people for humanitarian relief and for reconstruction. New Zealand will play its part in that process.

It is with profound regret that we see hostilities have begun in Iraq. Our hopes are with the innocent Iraqi men, women, and children who are caught up in this war—a war that, as the Prime Minister notes, could have been avoided at any time if the leadership of that country had chosen to comply fully with the demands of the international community.

The beginning of these hostilities reminds us of the destruction and suffering that goes with war, and it reminds us again, if we need it, of the seriousness of contemplating the use of war. The process of disarmament that showed some signs of beginning was only proceeding because of the serious threat of the war that has now begun. We share with the Government the wish that this war will come to a swift end.

The Prime Minister has remarked on the contributions the Government intends to make on behalf of New Zealand in the post-war period. We ask that the Government consider now the early deployment of the resources, particularly the medical resources, that it has already promised for the period after the war.

The participants in this war—our friends the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia—have made undertakings about the way in which they intend to conduct this war. It is to be conducted in a way that is highly targeted on Saddam Hussein and his military capacities, and in a way that will minimise civilian casualties. Today we leave with them, our friends, the hope that they will be able to meet those undertakings.

On behalf of New Zealand First I would like to convey our deep sense of sadness at what we all understood was predictable and certain, but, in fact, has come into being. We note, alongside the Prime Minister, the degree of responsibility that the leadership of the Iraq nation has to take, in terms of the consequences of the decisions that have been made. We hope, I am sure along with all the other members of this House, that the action will be short, the casualties will be minimal, and the harm will be small. We also concur with the Prime Minister that our responsibility now is to take our place in working alongside other nations in a multilateral fashion, to ensure that the harm that will inevitably occur will be able to be rectified when the conflict concludes.

The ACT party strongly supports the actions that the United States, Britain, and Australia are taking right now to enforce United Nations Resolution 1441 for Iraq to disarm. By taking that action, those countries are making New Zealand, and the world, a safer place. We say to the people of Iraq: “Your hour of liberation is now at hand”.

But I say to this House that our irrelevance is demonstrated by this debate. We all know that the Prime Minister learnt of the actions in Iraq in the same way that I did: she watched it on CNN. We are no longer a relevant player in the world; we are just a commentator. Regrettably, New Zealand is no longer part of the “coalition of the willing”—those nations that have been prepared to take action to uphold liberty. I say to the Prime Minister that it is pleasing that she will give some assistance after the war, but we should be giving assistance now. That is when we were asked for it. That is when the people of Iraq really need it. That is when the world needs it.

We need now to turn our attention to the post - Saddam Hussein world that is coming rapidly towards us—a world with a United Nations that is not prepared to enforce its own resolutions, a world where old alliances are now gone, and a world where we are not one of the 35 nations prepared to take action for the freedoms and values that this country believes in.

On behalf of the nine Green members, the wider Green Party, and the thousands of New Zealanders who have been calling for peace and reason over recent months, I want to record our grief and our anger at the attack on Baghdad that has just begun. Our first thoughts are for the Iraqi people, weakened from two wars and from many years of sanctions that have denied them even the basics of life. None of us, and none of those planning this war, have ever experienced the horrors they are about to inflict on others. It is not within the power of the Iraqi people, who will suffer from this attack, to cooperate or to not cooperate with the weapons inspectors.

Our second thoughts are for the systems of international law and agreement that are so seriously undermined by this action. The charter of the United Nations, which holds that force must be the very last resort, has been undermined. In its place we have a new doctrine of first strike, without any immediate threat and without international agreement. I fear we are entering a new dark age in international relations, which may undo what has been achieved with such difficulty and so tentatively in the last 50 years. I call on the Prime Minister to ensure that our frigate does not assist in any way with the US-led war. I would also like her to make our grief and our anger known to the diplomatic representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, and to play our part in initiating a special session of the United Nations General Assembly to condemn this “coalition of the killing”.

On behalf of the United Future party I rise to speak on this very, very solemn occasion, when action has indeed begun in Baghdad. Many, many words have been said for many, many months, but right now the time for those words has inevitably come to an end. The people who are going to be affected are the people who, right now, are within the arena of the war zone—the Iraqi people, and the valiant and brave soldiers of the “coalition of the willing” who are seeking to implement change within Iraq. It is very clear that when people do not live by good principles—by democratic principles—suffering occurs in the world. It is our wish right now, as members of the United Future party, to join in prayer with people of all faiths around the world, and to pray that the suffering that will be inflicted in that area will be short and that the outcomes will be worthwhile for the people of Iraq and for the peace and safety of the world in the future.

The Progressive party deplores the fact that a military juggernaut is descending upon the people of Iraq. In March 2002 I had the honour to be the New Zealand Minister at the development and financing conference in Mexico. The powers that are now descending on Iraq could not find the money to meet the needs of the people of Iraq and all the other millions of people around the world who need action on underdevelopment. Now, they have money in abundance to take a military juggernaut against the very people who symbolise the suffering of people throughout the world. At that very conference were the assembled dictators who receive money, arms, and financing for the oppression of their people. Also at that conference were the representatives of Israel, which at this very moment is continuing to remove the Palestinians from their lands, and which has been armed with weapons of mass destruction and is carrying out terrible crimes against the people of Palestine.

History has a way of bringing down harsh judgments. As I have said many times in this House, a judgment upon those responsible for putting Saddam Hussein in power, and for giving him the weapons to oppress his own people and to launch war against Iran, is now coming home to haunt those who have launched this war against Iraq.

I can only say that we must redouble our efforts in Government to put New Zealand at the forefront of genuine disarmament and genuine development. Firstly, I ask this House to consider giving support to the Government to get in behind the Government of South Africa, which has asked that the world urgently consider linking disarmament with development. Secondly, I ask that this House get behind the genuine effort to make sure that out of this conflict the people of Iraq will have a genuine Government that will be independent and able to use its national resources for its people, and not for the interests that have their military forces now invading Iraq.

I thank all the members who spoke who were forward-looking as to how New Zealand might contribute at the end of this conflict to relieving the misery of the Iraqi people and helping to rebuild that country. I want to state again, for the record, that this Government will not be assisting a war for which there was no case at this time. Faced with a choice between supporting peaceful and diplomatic means, which were working, and war, which cuts off that process, this Government made the only rational choice, which was to choose the peaceful means. I believe we had the strong support of a majority of this House and the people of New Zealand in making that choice. This country will be relevant in supporting what happens at the end of this conflict to give Iraqis a better future. We will be urging the United Nations to be proactive in seeking a role, and we will seek to work closely with other nations close to us, like Canada, that share our views on the appropriate way forward.

I seek leave for this House to stand for a minute’s silence.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought. Is there any objection? There is objection.