8. MARTIN GALLAGHER (Labour—Hamilton West) Link to this
to the Minister of Defence
What reports, if any, has he received on committing New Zealand troops to fight in Iraq?
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Defence) Link to this
I have seen the New Zealand Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) dated 18 March 2003. It records that all 27 National MPs voted for a resolution moved by the then ACT leader Richard Prebble on the invasion of Iraq, which “calls on the New Zealand Government to offer all practical support to the ‘coalition of the willing’.” There can be no other interpretation of that than National’s readiness and support for committing New Zealand soldiers to the war in Iraq.
Gerry BrownleeI seek leave to table the documents showing that the practical support the Government gave the invasion of Iraq was the transport of troops on Air New Zealand.
Madam SPEAKERI will finish the answer to the question, which no doubt embarrasses Mr Brownlee, who voted for that resolution. What that unanimous vote by the National Party represents is the absolute falsehood of recent claims by John Key, Murray McCully, and others that the National Party never supported sending New Zealand troops to Iraq. That vote is proof positive that they are speaking untruths and misleading the public.
Unfortunately, I had huge difficulty in hearing the last part of that answer. What reports is the Minister referring to in the last part of his answer, which I was actually able to hear?
There are a number of reports. TV3’s Campbell Live, for example, records Mr Key saying: “Our caucus did not support sending troops to Iraq.”, and that he personally did not support this. Yet in March 2003 every member of the National caucus, including Mr Key, voted for that resolution. A second report was in July of this year. Mr Key again said that National would not have sent troops to Iraq. That, obviously, is a false statement. The third and last report came from Murray McCully on . He again denied that the National Party would have sent troops to Iraq. All of those claims are demonstrably contradicted by the fact that all members of the National caucus voted for a resolution that clearly indicated their support for sending troops to Iraq at the time of the invasion.
Dr Wayne MappI seek leave to table a document showing that the Minister deployed 60 combat engineers to Iraq in June—
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. Before we make a decision on tabling that document, I ask whether the member can produce evidence that the engineers went to Iraq for the purposes of combat. That statement is demonstrably false, as well.
Has the Minister seen any reports on retraction and apology for the claims made, given the clear evidence that such claims are false?
Would members let the Minister deliver his answer—a short answer—in silence, so we can move on and this disorder can cease.
I have not seen any apology or retraction from the Leader of the Opposition, which is disappointing. It is one thing to show poor judgment at the time, and to decide that troops should be sent to Iraq; it is another thing, in relation to credibility and honesty, to deny that that decision was ever made, yet that is what the Leader of the Opposition is doing. This is an opportunity now for Mr Key and his colleagues to stand up and apologise, or to make an explanation for their actions at that time.