Page 4320 - Week 14 - Thursday, 24 October 1991
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Croatia are entirely inappropriate. We should be working as much as we can to get the United Nations involved; if necessary, to provide civilian administration or whatever has to be done in the aftermath, to draw those warring factions aside to allow an international boundary commission to be set up and to have that conflagration put out.
Mr Speaker, I am sorry to detain those members who have wanted to stay in the chamber tonight, and I am grateful to them. I believe that some of them have Croatian and Serbian constituents. They well know the sufferings that they are going through. They are losing family members; they are out of contact with their loved parents and other people. It is a dreadful situation.
I have stood on the back of a truck with Federal politicians of all persuasions on this issue in recent months. I have not seen enough members of this Assembly involved, even though we have a significant constituency from those areas. I believe that more members should become involved. It is appropriate for me, on United Nations Day, to say that I call for that in a peaceful, humanitarian manner - not in any context other than my criticism of an out of control, invading army that appears to know no master other than its old communist, hardline, conservative backers.
Visitors - Mr and Mrs Vigor
DR KINLOCH (5.36): Briefly, may I welcome former Senator David Vigor and Mrs Susan Vigor, who have been with us most of the afternoon. We know that he was particularly influential in questions of self-government in the past, and we welcome him and his wife here today.
Peacekeeping Force in Cambodia
MR JENSEN (5.37): Members may recall seeing television scenes last night of members of the Australian Army preparing to leave their country's shores again to go to Cambodia to get involved in the peacekeeping arrangements there. My advice is that those members will go across unarmed and they will be playing a very important role in maintaining communications between the various groups within that unfortunate country.
I think it behoves members of this Assembly to wish them well in their role and also to remember the families of those soldiers who will be undertaking that very important task in the future. Let us hope, Mr Speaker, that that task will be completed as quickly as possible. I know that those members of the Australian Army, particularly the Defence Force, will complete their task with the utmost professionalism.
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