﻿Mr SPEAKER: Question No 12, the Hon Phil Goff.
Hon PHIL GOFF (Labour—Mt Roskill) to the Minister of Defence:
Does he stand by his statement this morning that comments
about sending troops to Iraq
being the price of being part of the club were “unfortunate”?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister of Defence):
The comment that the questioner refers to was from a Radio NZ interview this morning.
The topic of the interview was related to the possible contribution NZ might make
to the fight against ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), and I made it clear
that my comment referred to comments made by the British Foreign Secretary,
clearly confusing “club” for “family”. I stand by my comments.
Hon Phil Goff: When this morning on radio he described the comments of his leader,
the Prime Minister, as being unfortunate, was that because currying favour
with other club members is a poor reason to give
for putting the lives of NZ soldiers at risk?
Hon Gerry Brownlee: As I have just said, that was not my intention.
I misunderstood the intent of the question from the radio interviewer,
and I confused two things: club and family. I stand by my comment—
which was meant to be that the British Foreign Secretary’s comment last week,
saying that we were part of the family and expected to turn up, was inappropriate.
Hon Phil Goff: If it is not for the reason of being part of the club,
what is the justification for putting Kiwi soldiers in harm’s way
to train the Iraqi army when 10 years and $25 billion worth of efforts
by the United States to train that army has failed to end the incompetence,
the poor leadership, and the corruption of that army?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: For a start, there has been no decision
to do any of the things that Mr Goff is suggesting.
We have been very open with the public that we are looking
at how we might contribute to the fight against ISIL,
and if anybody wonders why we are even looking at it,
they have only to look at events in Sydney this morning.
Hon Phil Goff: Why do human rights abuses
by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
apparently require our military intervention
when years of similarly appalling abuses by Boko Haram
and by President al-Assad of Syria have attracted so little comment
and no action from his Government?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: The first point would be that this Government
does condemn those atrocities committed by the people the member lists.
There is no question about that.
But when there is an opportunity to do something, as there may be,
as we conduct our investigations, then that becomes a point
where you do something about nipping in the bud the very organisation
that appears to be funding a lot of these other ratbags around the world.
Hon Phil Goff: Why was he pretending yesterday that contingency training
for an Iraq deployment was about to begin when his own office admitted
more than 2 months ago, on 2 December,
that that contingency training for deployment was already under way?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: That is the popular interpretation
Mr Goff likes to put on things.
What happened before Christmas, I am informed,
is that the Chief of Defence Force did say he wanted some people trained
for a general mission to the Middle East. We have made it specific
that they should train for Iraq.
NZ troops are very good at training and becoming familiar with the culture
they are going to be entering into,
and that is why they have such a good reputation around the world.
It is appropriate that they make some preparations,
but I stress again that no decision has been made.
The information we need to make that decision is not available at this point.
Hon Phil Goff: I seek to table a quote from the Minister’s own office,
by his spokesman, saying that the contingency had already started for—
Mr SPEAKER: Order! It is effectively a press release the member is seeking to table.
Hon Phil Goff: Oh, it would have been quoted in the media.
I probably got it from the Parliamentary Library.
Mr SPEAKER: I am not prepared to put the leave.
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker.
Unlike a previous Minister of Defence, I am not led by the nose by staff in my office.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! And that is not a point of order.
That concludes Questions for Oral Answer.
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