Stirling Griff (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Should Australia distinguish between wars of choice and wars of necessity, as my colleague Senator Xenophon argued in this place yesterday? Should Australia be in charge of its own destiny and not blindly follow others into areas of conflict? Absolutely. This is even more the case when you consider the position we now find ourselves in, with the very real prospect of the United States and North Korea facing off against each other.

Our past has always been one of reliance on major powers. Since our inception, we have fought alongside Britain in empire wars; and, in return, Britain defended us when we needed them. We turned to the US for help when the realities of World War II drew close. The evolution of the Cold War, and in turn conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, saw us cosy up even closer to the US and other allies. When the Iron Curtain fell, and peace replaced war, our dependence on global superpowers should have waned. Instead, rather than becoming strategically independent and making our own decisions in line with national priorities, we have become increasingly bound by the decisions of the US and others. We have become more closely entwined and committed to American foreign policy than ever before. This was perhaps most starkly illustrated by the increased presence of US marines stationed in Darwin and the Joint Defence Facility at Pine Gap, which is used for military spying operations throughout the Middle East, Eurasia and the western Pacific. Now our blind loyalty is being demanded once more, with President Trump rallying allies as he escalates his rhetoric towards North Korea.

It would seem that caution and restraint of American foreign policy has been scrapped in favour of a full-throttle approach by the new administration. While checks and balances have thwarted some of the President's legislative reforms, as Commander-in-Chief, he has unfettered control of his military.

President Obama told Australian troops in 2011: 'You can't tell where our guys end and you guys begin.' While the sentiment may have been genial, that blurred line makes America's enemies our enemies too. With recent events unfolding much faster than expected, an increasingly worrying picture is beginning to emerge. Tensions are rising, and North Korea is closer than ever before to launching missiles into American territory. While this is of course extremely concerning, it is important that we take a very measured approach. However, Prime Minister Turnbull is using the current conflict as an opportunity to cosy up to the US, rather than putting Australia's interests first—using statements like, 'Australia and the US are joined at the hip', 'The United States has no stronger ally than Australia', and 'Australia and the US will always stand together'. We haven't heard this kind of rhetoric from an Australian Prime Minister since the Iraq War. Our Prime Minister declared that the 1951 ANZUS treaty will be invoked should North Korea attack the US.

The question that comes to my mind is: why the haste to commit ourselves to a possible regional conflict? Even the experts are questioning why the Prime Minister went so hard, so quickly. Professor John Blaxland, international security expert from ANU and former director of joint intelligence operations for the Australian Defence Force, has described the PM's comments as 'extraordinary' and 'surprisingly forthright'. The Prime Minister's own foreign minister even took a step back, adopting a much more measured approach, pointing out that under the ANZUS alliance or the Korean war armistice, 'Australia would not automatically be involved were there any catastrophic conflict on the Korean Peninsula'—and rightly so.

The ANZUS alliance states that, if there was an armed attack in the Pacific area on any of the parties, countries are required to consult on joint military action. Prime Minister Turnbull's declaration that Australia would be in lock step with the US is far from consultation, and, according to Professor James Curran from the US Studies Centre, the pre-emptive declaration is very much unprecedented.

It's also important to remember that the treaty has only been invoked once before, by John Howard in consultation with the respective allies following the September 11 attacks. We can't be or be seen to be wilfully following the US into another conflict without consideration of our own position and national interests. If we do, we risk finding ourselves in a similar situation to that of the Iraq War. While opinions are still split on the merits of Australia's involvement in the Iraq War, I believe we should follow the UK's example and reconsider how decisions about military actions are made, including, as Senator Xenophon mentioned yesterday, by subjecting them to parliamentary debate.

There is no doubt that our relationship with the US remains one of our most important, but that affiliation mustn't be our only focus and we mustn't favour that alliance over our own national interests. A recent report from the Australian National University's National Security College recommended the federal government reframe our engagement with the US and prioritise the national interest, strengthening ties with our regional neighbours. China is our largest trading partner and an increasingly important friend. We must not let ourselves be led by the Trump administration down a path that seeks to damage this relationship or others like it. It is time to move beyond the hand-holding with President Trump. Prime Minister Turnbull mustn't automatically get swept up in the United States's fire and fury. Of course we need to respect our alliance with the US, but the US should not expect that we will blindly follow whatever decision they make. We need to make these decisions nationally and rationally, and in our own best interests—Australia's interests.