3   RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN IRAQ

The order of the day having been read for the resumption of the debate on the motion of Mr Hayes—That this House:

(1)    notes that:

(a)    for more than 2,000 years religious groups such as Assyrians, Mandaeans, Chaldeans, Syriacs and other Aramaic speakers have called Iraq home;

(b)   in 2003, Australia was part of the ‘coalition of the willing’ that invaded Iraq in the belief that Iraq harboured weapons of mass destruction;

(c)    since 2003 there have been horrendous acts of persecution against these religious minorities in Iraq, including murders, bombings and extortion; and

(d)   the Catholic Church reports that one million Christians have fled Iraq since the 2003 invasion; and

(2)    recognises that:

(a)    thousands of people are sheltering in Syria, Egypt, Jordan and the northern regions of Iraq because they feel they cannot return to their homes for fear of death and persecution;

(b)   due to our part in the ‘coalition of the willing’, Australia has a moral responsibility to deal compassionately with these displaced people; and

(c)    it will be a damning critique on humanity and the Coalition forces, who have vowed to protect the people of Iraq, if religious groups with such a significant historical link to the region are forced out at the hands of terrorists ( see item No. 3, Votes and Proceedings )—

Debate resumed.

The time allotted for the debate having expired, the debate was interrupted, and the resumption of the debate made an order of the day for the next sitting.