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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 12 Hansard (13 November) . . Page.. 3553 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

from the role of the Commonwealth parliament as the parliament responsible for the conduct of our foreign affairs. I say that by way of explanation in relation to the range of issues that we within the Labor caucus discussed in determining our position on the specifics of the motion.

Certainly it is the view of the Labor Party-I do not know whether it is important that I distinguish between the view of the government and the view of the Labor Party-that paragraph (2) of Ms Dundas' motion should be supported. We have no hesitation in affirming the role of the United Nations as the vehicle for seeking a non-violent resolution of the issues. I think that is the view of each and every one of us. Certainly it is the view that has been adopted by the Labor Party's colleagues in the federal parliament. There is a position on this issue that has been adopted by each of the parties-the Labor Party, the Liberal Party, the Democrats and the Greens-in the federal parliament, the parliament that has direct constitutional responsibility for these issues. Of course, it is appropriate that we express own views and the views of the people of the ACT.

One of the major concerns that many have had, one which I share, is that untoward pressure not be brought to bear on the United Nations; that it be supported in its role; that we nurture, support and encourage the United Nations to fulfil its charter in relation to issues such as this. This is a prime example of the importance of the United Nations and its mechanisms being supported to the full.

It is vital that we do that in light of resolution 1441 of the Security Council, which directed Iraq to agree to allow completely unfettered access to UN weapons inspectors to any site they suspect of harbouring weapons of mass destruction. The UN has asserted its pivotal role in seeking a resolution to the situation that is faced by the world following the terrorist attacks in the United States over a year ago which precipitated a quite remarkable international coalition against terrorist attacks and the world at large being held to ransom by that sort of terrorism, which was very much an incident of international instability.

The world united and responded to the particular issue. That to some extent has now lead us to this tense stand-off with Iraq in relation to that country's possession of, and in the view of many a predisposition to develop and to utilise, weapons of mass destruction and in so doing pose a significant threat to world stability and world peace. It is in that context that the United Nations must and should be supported.

The Labor Party will support paragraph (2) of Ms Dundas' motion as the appropriate way forward. It reflects what is now happening, to the extent that we have a United Nations resolution in relation to these things. I think we are all hoping that Iraq will abide by that resolution and that weapons inspections in Iraq will be resumed.

Mr Hargreaves will move amendments to paragraph (1) in terms which support the United Nations. It seems to me that essentially there is an internal inconsistency in Ms Dundas' motion. It may be that the United Nations will sanction armed intervention, in which case Ms Dundas' motion, if supported as it is, would in effect fly in the face of support for the United Nations and the way forward as determined by the United Nations.

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