Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to express my strong support for Australia's role in joining the multinational effort to help Kurdish fighters in Iraq. I have received countless messages and expressions of outrage from my constituents in my electorate of Hume in response to the atrocities in Iraq and, indeed, in Syria. In keeping with the instincts of most Australians, the action that is being taken by the Australian government is sending a strong signal to the Islamic State terrorists that we repudiate their barbaric actions. We repudiate the mass slaughter of innocent people, the enslaving of women and children, the torture of civilians and the unspeakable crimes that risk becoming genocide. That children are exposed to these depraved acts, and sometimes even recruited to participate, is an outrage many of us cannot get our heads around. Those living amongst this horror must be feeling indescribable fear. ISIS have shown again and again, and unequivocally, that they do not respect the sanctity of human life. In this lack of respect, they show that they have not even an ounce of moral compass, and they have no restraint.

While what is happening in Iraq right now is a world away, it is with us every day in images we see on the television and in social media. I think it is right that these scenes, as disturbing as they are, are published. It is important that we know what these barbarians are capable of. Nowhere has the lack of respect for life been on more repulsive display than in the beheadings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. All Australians—indeed all right-thinking people the world over—have been sickened and traumatised by these images. The Prime Minister's description of ISIS as a 'death cult' is apt.

There is much praise in the community for the strong stance the Prime Minister and the government have taken. Yet, understandably, there is also concern amongst some Australians about us overcommitting. The government acknowledges the spectrum of views. However, as Gareth Evans pointed out in The Australian on Monday, in the present circumstances the government is acting within clear principles of the international responsibility to protect people at risk of what the United Nations call 'mass atrocity crimes'.

In coming days, Australian aircraft will join an airlift of supplies, including military equipment, to the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil. American, British, Canadian and Italian aircraft will also be involved. This involvement comes at the request of the Obama administration and with the support of the Iraqi government.

ISIS is not only a risk to the people living in Iraq and Syria, but to all western civilisations. As Secretary of State, John Kerry, has said of ISIS:

In this battle, there is a role for almost any country.

I am utterly supportive of our involvement; our country must be part of this repudiation.

It is very important to note that the international community's response, of which we are a part, is a response based entirely on humanitarian motives. There is clearly no other motive. Without Australia and other countries stepping in, all those who live in the path of these terrorists will surely die in mass slaughters or in ethnic cleansing or will be required to convert. In those circumstances the multinational response, of which we are a part, is entirely within the boundaries of international humanitarian law. The response is necessary and proportionate. While many are apprehensive about the risk of becoming involved in another conflict in the Middle East, to do nothing is indefensible. This is my strong opinion. To do nothing is indefensible.

I am grateful that it is also the opinion of the opposition. The Labor Party has supported the government and its response in a decent and constructive way. Australia will continue to work closely with its international partners to alleviate the humanitarian challenge in Iraq. There has been no formal request for combat forces and no decision taken to get further involved in the conflict.

The world knows that foreign fighters are now taking leading roles in the fighting in Syria and Iraq. The roles undertaken by extremist Australians are not insignificant. David Irvine, outgoing head of ASIO, has told us it now includes more Australians than any other previous extremist conflict. Some 15 Australians are believed to have died fighting for Islamic extremists during the current conflict in Syria and Iraq. And there are about 60 Australians fighting with the two principal extremist al-Qaeda derivatives: Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra.

ASIO also believes another 100 people in Australia are actively supporting these extremist groups from our shores. This adds a new dimension to our international responsibilities. Whilst these deranged people are a tiny minority, we need to acknowledge this new development. Australia, like many other countries, is now a recruiting ground for some of these terrorists. I fully support changes to our laws which will permit the government to deal with extremists who return to our shores with a commitment to violence and a hatred of us and our community. While the number of Australians of potential security concern to ASIO and our law enforcement partners has increased, we should not panic. But our specialist authorities need to be equipped with whatever they need to ensure the safety of every Australian.

However, it is incredibly important that we as a community understand that this tiny number of Australian extremists do not represent the many hundreds of thousands of wonderful Muslims living peacefully in and contributing fully to our communities, and who want for our country precisely what all of us want: peace, tolerance and safety. Muslims living in our community are to be protected and, indeed, nourished and supported by the rest of us. As they look on with horror at what is happening in Iraq and Syria, how lucky they must feel to be living in this wonderful country of ours. As a community, we must reach out to them, even enlist their help, in coming to terms with this new scourge in Iraq and Syria. We are all in this together.

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