Kim Beazley Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
3:12 pm
Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.
David Hawker Speaker
Does the Leader of the Opposition claim to have been misrepresented?
Kim Beazley Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
Serially, by the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Kim Beazley Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
Firstly, he characterises my views falsely. My views reflect the now near universal concern amongst American and British generals that we are going down the wrong road. Secondly, he repeats in this place the view that I share the government’s position and view on the possession before the war by Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. It is quite true that we received those briefings and accepted them at face value. Unlike the government, we were not privy to the volume of doubt and uncertainty from the intelligence community around those propositions. We also were not privy to the view the intelligence community presented to the government that going to war might well increase the threat of terror. Nevertheless, though we were not privy to those particular views, we took a different view about what the right course was—
David Hawker Speaker
Order! The Leader of the Opposition will show where he has been misrepresented.
Kim Beazley Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
to adopt. I have opposed this war for the last four years. We have been consistent on this side of the House.