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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 4 Hansard (1 April) . . Page.. 1179 ..

MRS CROSS: Yes. I thank members for their indulgence. I truly hope that when this war is over we can make life better for the people of Iraq. I hope that we can go back and help to rebuild that country. I know that after the war has ended there will be the need to rebuild Iraq-to rebuild its economy and the self-esteem and welfare of its people. This needs to be done so that the people of Iraq can live free lives and not be afraid to speak openly and democratically; so that they will not be afraid that they will be killed if they speak against their leader. Of course, in this country we can say whatever we like against people without fear of persecution in a physical sense.

I have been quite disturbed by the adversarial approach that we have witnessed in our country over the last month. I hope that in future we will be able to work in a cohesive way.

MR BERRY (5.08): I am one of the demonstrators who have been marching against our government's war against the people of Iraq. I have been doing so ever since the demonstrations started here in the ACT, and I must say that I salute all of those who have been demonstrating against this ugly war.

I also marched against the invasion of Iraq in 1991 that was sanctioned by the United Nations. I was right to march against the war then, because what did it achieve? One set of numbers that I have seen-the numbers that have been hurled around are often hard to confirm-show that 20,000 Iraqi military people were killed, massive amounts of military equipment were destroyed and there were serious impacts on the Iraqi people. I have heard of numbers like 200,000 people dying as a result of the ongoing effects of the war. It is always difficult to determine what the real numbers are, but if 20,000 soldiers being killed is acceptable to some people, I have to say it is not to me.

We have to ask what, at the end of the day, the war in 1991 really achieved? Okay, the people of Kuwait were able to re-occupy their country but, if all that we hear is true about Saddam Hussein's regime, not much was achieved at all. So I look back, without much relish, on my participation in those demonstrations and I ask myself, "Well, I was right but what help was it for the Iraqi people?"The answer is, "Not much."

The more recent demonstrations have been criticised, particularly those held close to the sending away of the troops. The spin doctors, who are great at building straw men and then knocking them down, are trying to turn this into a demonstration against the soldiers who go away to do the bidding of the government of the day. But those soldiers would understand that the government of the day does not have universal support in this country-the government cannot argue that it has. The soldiers who go away would also understand that it is open to people in this great country who have a different view from the government of the day to voice their concerns and to demonstrate against what is happening.

I am a great supporter of the human rights of all people. I hate to see this country invading another, because there is always a downside to being part of an invading force, notwithstanding the immediate effects on the military forces. We can only guess what will happen after all of this. We do not know. We do not know whether our children or their children will be the subject of ongoing tensions throughout the world as countries strive to get over these invasions. I fear that the conflict has only just begun,

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