Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. Governments have to act on all fronts to endeavour to secure peace in their own lands and hopefully to provide a positive influence around the world. That is what Australia has done. The aircraft flew into the towers in New York well before the US went to war in Iraq. We had Australians' lives lost in Bali well before we committed to those conflicts. So it is simply nonsense to try and argue that because a country does its duty to help keep the world safe, because a country commits to what may sometimes be a very difficult and costly conflict, that somehow or other that is justification for other people to commit acts of terror in our land. The reality is that people are acting now in Australia, unfortunately, before there has been any commitment by Australia to place people into the war zones.

We will continue to talk with the Australian people. The government is committed to open dialogue with the opposition, and I commend the opposition for their constructive approach to these issues as well. Australians are united in wanting their own country to be peaceful and wanting the world to live in peace. Sometimes, you have to fight to preserve your peace. This may well be such an instance. There is a horror around the world at the present time that can be tolerated by none. Governments, therefore, need to be firm in their resolve to make it clear to anyone that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable. The United Nations Security Council meeting last night made that point abundantly clear to the world. The world is united in endeavouring to stamp out this evil, and Australia stands ready to play its part.

See this speech in context