In 2003 the Liberal National Party cabinet, not the parliament, made the decision to send Australian solders to the illegal war in Iraq.
Tony Abbott was a member of this cabinet at that time, and admits his support for this decision. He argues that ‘it was to liberate other people, to advance everyone’s interest and to uphold universal values’.
The Lancet, one of the oldest scientific medical journals in the world, published a study on the effect of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation in October 2006.
It estimated that 654,965 deaths were related to the war. The death toll continues to rise with the whole region now progressing into a bloodbath with a massive increase in the number of refugees.
The last thing Australia needs is to elect a leader who was responsible for sending our troops to an illegal war in the Middle East.
Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser, former secretary of the Department of Defence, Paul Barratt, and former chief of the Australian Defence Force, General Peter Gration (retired) have spoken of the need to investigate how Australia was committed to the illegal and unprovoked Iraq war.
Greens policy is to make the final decision to commit Australia to war a matter for the Parliament, not the Cabinet.
David Norris, Pottsville
