Little Andrew: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers Questions to MembersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLittle Andrew: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members[Sitting date: 03 December 2014. Volume:702;Page:1057. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition)to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that the “100 years commemoration of Gallipoli” could be “one argument” for a joint ANZAC force to be deployed in the fight against ISIS?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):I stand by my full statement on this issue which reflects that the Government has been talking to Australia about potentially partnering in a training role in Iraq. As I clearly stated when I gave a national security speech last month the Government will make a decision about whether to take that step on its merits and there is a lot of work yet to be done on it. What badge someone might wear is very much a secondary issue to that.Andrew Little: Is he seriously saying that sending our troops to Iraq would be a fitting tribute to our fallen in Gallipoli when the lesson of Gallipoli is not to sacrifice our troops in poorly justified military adventures?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No what I am saying is that the Government considers the Islamic State regime to be brutal to be one that presents a domestic regional and international risk to New Zealanders and that the New Zealand Government has considered a wide range of options available to stand up against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and one of those is providing a training force in Iraq.Andrew Little: Why did New Zealanders have to find out from the Australian media about the plans for our troops to be part of a joint combat force—why did he not just tell us?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well no decision has been made. What did happen was someone in one of the Australian newspapers ran a speculative piece. As I said at the time when I was asked about that in principle it is a possibility but it is a long way away from being a probability.Andrew Little: When was a joint Iraq deployment with Australia first discussed?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I do not have that date to hand.Andrew Little: Given the Iraqi army’s serious issues with ineffectiveness corruption sectarianism and human rights violations—despite over $25 billion worth of American support over the past 10 years—why is a token effort worth risking Kiwi lives?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member may not take the build-up of ISIS seriously and he may be so shallow in his thinking that he does not recognise the risks that it presents to New Zealanders but I would strongly suggest that he needs to school up a little bit more and understand how brutal these people are and the risks that they present to New Zealanders.Andrew Little: In light of his shifting statements and his failure to reveal the plans for an Anzac unit until forced to why should New Zealanders trust him when he says our troops would not be involved in any combat?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: If anyone is making it up it is Mr Little. There is no plan for an Anzac force at this stage. There has been a very high-level discussion and if ultimately it goes to that level then we will come back and talk to the New Zealand public about that. But I have been very clear in my speech I gave on national security that we were looking at a training unit in Iraq that we looked at potentially doing that with Australia and that we have deployed military people to scope that exercise out. If the member cannot keep up with my speeches he should just learn to—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Andrew Little: Why can he not simply front up and be straight with New Zealanders about his plans for a deployment of troops to Iraq?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member needs to learn a new line; otherwise it will all get a bit boring—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Could the Prime Minister just address the question that has been asked.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: When the member learns to read he will learn how to keep up. That was all in the speech from a few weeks ago.