Doorstop Interview

MECWA Aged Care Centre, Malvern

Friday, 6 July 2007

11:30am

SUBJECTS: Iraq

JOURNALIST:

Treasurer can we just ask you, the war in Iraq. Is it about democracy or is it about oil?

TREASURER:

It is about ensuring that the democratically elected government of Iraq can maintain democracy and can maintain human rights in Iraq.  It is about Australia contributing to the training of the Iraqi security forces so that the government will ultimately be able to secure the country and protect democracy.  It is about ensuring that al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups are not able to crush a fledgling democracy and turn Iraq into a haven for terrorism which will threaten the region and beyond.

JOURNALIST:

Other members of the Government are suggesting it’s about oil in Iraq, what’s your (inaudible)?

TREASURER:

This about something that is much more important than that.  This is about defending an elected government. And if al-Qaeda is successful in crushing out democracy in Iraq this would be a great victory to terrorism, a great victory for Islamism, and will destabilise the region even further.  It is important that we can defend an elected government in Iraq, and help with its training, and ensure that democracy gets a foothold in a very troubled region of the world.

JOURNALIST:

So is oil a consideration at all?

TREASURER:

No, the consideration now is to defend that fledgling democracy and ensure that democracy and freedom can take a foothold in the Middle East.

JOURNALIST:

Treasurer how could Mr Nelson’s views and your views and the PM’s views be so far apart?

TREASURER:

Well I don’t think they are but I am just reiterating, as I did yesterday, that Australian troops are helping to train and secure security forces and democracy in Iraq. And if we leave before the Iraqi government is able to secure itself as an elected democratic government, and we hand over Iraq to al-Qaeda this will be a huge victory for terrorism. This will be their greatest propaganda and on-the-ground victory for a generation.  And don’t think al-Qaeda, if successful in deposing a democratic government in Iraq, will stop in Iraq.  This is a group which has ambitions for the whole Islamic world. 

JOURNALIST:

(inaudible)

TREASURER:

All I am doing is making clear, as I did yesterday, what the importance of Iraq is and that is the position of the Government and all members of the Government. Okay, thanks.