Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

I think the honourable senator is getting somewhat overexcited when he suggests that extending air strikes into Syria is starting or creating another war. This is the same evil that we are fighting, and have been fighting, which has a base in Syria. And, as I understand international law—and somebody might help me out, but I see the Attorney is gone. I will try it. Article 51 of the UN charter does allow for collective defence to be undertaken, and in those circumstances we believe that international law does allow us to extend our operations from those which we are doing today to Syria, to overcome Daesh.

Now, one thing I cannot understand is that, day after day after day, we get questions from the Australian Greens doing everything but supporting our service men and women who are fighting an evil that is untold—a group of individuals that behead their victims, that rape their victims and then kill them, because they are of an opposite faith or of a different faith from their own. These are people that do untold atrocities. Yet there is not a word of support for our service men and women, or the service men and women of other countries that are doing exactly the same. We on this side salute the service of our men and women who are putting themselves on the line to protect us and indeed— (Time expired)