Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

There are some 23-odd countries remaining in the alliance in Iraq, and we along with them are not going to abandon the Iraqi people to the fate of the terrorists. We are not going to hand victory to the terrorists. We are simply not going to abandon the Iraqi people in their time of need. The Iraqi government have made clear how important our role is and how valuable the Australian troops are to them. That is why we are increasing our commitment for troop trainers, because the Australian troops are first-class and doing a fabulous job in Iraq. It is about time the opposition supported them.