Page 2467 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 6 August 1991
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ADJOURNMENT
MR SPEAKER: Order! It being 9.30 pm, I propose the question:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Mr Berry: I require the question to be put forthwith without debate.
Question resolved in the negative.
AIDEX
Debate resumed.
MR JENSEN: As I was saying, I and many of my colleagues were actually called and trained to participate in a war because there was a belief on the part of the Government at the time that there was a threat to this nation - a threat that had, in fact, materialised in previous times when the representatives of the country that my colleague Mr Collaery has just recently visited were effectively banging on the back door of our country, rather loudly and with very large and noisy weapons. My father, in fact, was personally involved in the conflict in New Guinea as they sought to stop the advance of the Japanese towards this country.
Unfortunately, that second war to end all wars did not solve the problem. As we have seen in recent times, the desire for power and territory continues. In the country of Yugoslavia, civilians and military members on both sides are engaged in a bloody conflict as some of them seek to protect their homeland while others appear, to me anyway, to be seeking to subjugate their neighbours. What are the Croatian people and the members of the Baltic nations, for example, to do in such circumstances? Are they, as my colleague Mr Collaery said, going to turn the other cheek and cop it sweet? Unfortunately, I suspect not. That is the nature of the human race of which we are part. It is an unfortunate trait, if you like; but is one that we have to live with. Hopefully, as time progresses we will be able to do something about it. But certainly I do not believe that it will happen in my lifetime. So, this is the problem: While we may not want to be involved in such an activity, there may well come a time when an enemy force, once again, is prepared to seek to invade and subjugate our nation.
As has already been said, the national capital is the central focus for our Defence Force, and I guess that that is one of the reasons why the Aidex group has chosen to come to the national capital. The people who make the decisions on the purchase of weapons for use by our Defence Force are here. We have a defence force, and I suspect
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