Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Deputy Leader of the Opposition for her question. She is absolutely right. Yesterday I did have a quite lengthy discussion with President Obama about a range of subjects: about the situation in the Middle East, about the upcoming G20, about matters in our region, and also about the Ebola crisis. Yes, our partners and allies would like us to do more, and we are carefully considering those requests. I do point out, though, that there is a world of difference between people volunteering to assist—and I salute their selfless humanitarianism—and people being ordered into a difficult and dangerous region.

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