Ms LEY (2:23 PM) —My question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Would the minister inform the House of what he will say in his meetings next week with the US administration and the UN Secretary-General about United Nations involvement in post conflict Iraq?

Opposition members interjecting—`Yes, sir!'

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —Order! The member for Farrer will repeat that question.

Ms LEY —My question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Would the minister inform the House of what he will say in his meetings next week with the US administration and the UN Secretary-General about United Nations involvement in post conflict Iraq?

Mr DOWNER (Minister for Foreign Affairs) —First, can I thank the honourable member for her question and for the interest she clearly demonstrates in these issues, which reflects very much the concerns of her own constituents in the electorate of Farrer.

An opposition member—How would you know?

Mr DOWNER —How would I know? Because I have often visited that beautiful part of Australia, though I have not since the honourable member has held the seat. I look forward to coming there at some stage.

Mr Crean —How long has she been here?

Mr DOWNER —She has only been there for a year or so. Let me say that my visit to Washington and New York will obviously first and foremost be an opportunity to discuss the progress of the military attempt to disarm the regime of Saddam Hussein. Of course, I cannot anticipate what stage the disarmament process will be at by the time I arrive in Washington, which will be on Monday night, but there will be, naturally enough, discussions during my visit there about those military matters. But also, as the Prime Minister has explained in answer to two questions from the opposition, there will be a particular focus on the post-conflict reconstruction, rehabilitation and humanitarian assistance for Iraq. There are a number of different issues that we will be addressing there.

First and foremost—and I think the House would hope that I would put this first and foremost—there will be humanitarian concerns. It has to be remembered that not only will Iraq have endured the conflict which is now taking place but it has endured many conflicts over the last 30 years, including the completely debilitating Iran-Iraq war in which approximately half a million Iraqis and approximately the same number of Iranians were killed. There has been interethnic conflict of the most brutal kind in Iraq—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —The member for Sydney!

Mr DOWNER —and this is also a regime which, in refusing to comply with Security Council resolutions, has had sanctions imposed on it. There is no doubt that those sanctions—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —The member for Sydney!

Mr DOWNER —have restricted economic growth in Iraq. With the lifting of those sanctions, it will be a real opportunity for the economy to move ahead. There will be two aspects to this. The first is the distribution of aid. We have made some early announcements on the humanitarian assistance we will provide for Iraq. We will have to look and see whether there is more that we can do or need to do and how other countries are coordinating. One of the principal points to make here, which the Prime Minister has alluded to, is that inevitably, on the humanitarian side, there will be a central role inter alia for United Nations institutions. I particularly refer to organisations like UNICEF and the support it provides to children and mothers, and I also refer to organisations like UNDP and the like, which have such a strong commitment to the development process.

The second thing that will be a very important part of the discussions—and the Prime Minister has said a fair bit about this, so I will not repeat it all, because the honourable member will have heard his answer—is that there will certainly be detailed discussions about the administrative arrangements in post-conflict Iraq. One of the key points to make here is: let us think about the administrative arrangements that currently exist in Iraq. This is a country which has been subjected to a barbarous tyranny for many years, and that will have been overthrown. In its place will, no doubt, be a period at—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —The member for Sydney is warned!

Mr DOWNER —the immediate conclusion of the conflict when the American military will be in control. One of the points the Americans have made—and I must say, I do very strongly subscribe to this view myself—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —The member for Sydney will remove herself under standing order 304A!

Mr DOWNER —is that the sooner that the Iraqi people themselves can take control of their own country, the better. I know on this side of the House—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —The member for Sydney will remove herself under standing order 304A. She has been warned three times.

Mr Albanese —I rise on a point of order. Mr Deputy Speaker, can you indicate to the House why the member for Sydney has been suspended from the House?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —Because she has been called to order on more than three occasions and then warned under the standing orders.

Mr DOWNER —I would not have thought I was making a terribly controversial point. The point I was making was that we in this government—and it is obviously a view shared by the government of the United States of America—believe that the Iraqi people need to take control of their own country as quickly as possible and to do so in a democratic way. These are people who have been denied democracy for decades, who have been subjected to tyranny and who have been subjected to brutal human rights abuses. For many Iraqis, it comes back to that quote that I used earlier from the human shield.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —The member for McMillan!

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —The member for McMillan is warned!

Mr DOWNER —This is actually a pretty important issue—what happens to Iraq after the war finishes.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —The Minister for Foreign Affairs will answer the question.

Mr DOWNER —All I can say in conclusion is that, at least on this side of the House, my colleagues in the coalition parties and, of course, in the government are very committed to ensuring that the people of Iraq have a free and prosperous future.