Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Will the minister outline to the House how the government is providing humanitarian assistance to Iraq, especially those affected by the Mosul offensive?

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Canning for his question and for his ongoing commitment to global security. As the Prime Minister said earlier, the government of Iraq has commenced military operations to liberate the city of Mosul from the terrorist organisation Daesh, or ISIL as it is variously called. Members will be aware that, in June 2014, ISIL proclaimed a so-called Islamic caliphate over parts of Iraq, including Mosul, and in Syria. At the invitation and with the consent of the Iraqi government Australia is playing an important role in Iraq and during the Mosul offensive. As a major contributor to the global counter-ISIL coalition Australian Defence Force personnel are advising and assisting the Iraqi counterterrorism service, our aircraft are providing air support to Iraqi operations and our personnel have trained Iraqi army battalions that are participating in the offensive.

Australia is also providing critical humanitarian assistance in response to the Mosul offensive, recognising that the humanitarian need that will invariably result from this military operation is likely to be significant. Today I have announced that Australia's contribution will be an additional $10 million in humanitarian support to Iraq. This contribution will specifically provide emergency food, medical assistance and temporary shelter to meet the needs of Iraqis displaced or impacted by the Mosul operation and it will specifically support women and girls, who are at the greatest risk of hardship. The contribution will bring Australia's total humanitarian assistance to Iraq since June 2014 to $70 million. It is in addition to the $230 million in humanitarian assistance provided to date in response to the Syrian crisis and recently the government committed an additional $220 million over the next three years for humanitarian relief in Syria and neighbouring countries. Australia's committed humanitarian and stabilisation assistance to both the Iraq and Syrian crises now stands at over $500 million.

The defeat of terrorist organisations such as ISIL is a national security priority for the Australian government and for our country as we work to prevent the spread of ISIL's activities in our region and here in Australia. Freeing Mosul from the tyranny of ISIL will liberate the people of Mosul and take away the false narratives of these Islamic terrorists, who must be defeated for the safety and security of people in that region, in our region and in Australia.