Little Andrew: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLittle Andrew: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 24 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1839. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement with regard to the deployment of troops to the warzone in Iraq that “I don’t think that’s a matter for a Parliamentary vote”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.Andrew Little: Given that Parliament has to approve paying the Defence Force has to approve buying the tools it needs and has to declare war does he not accept it is right that Parliament should approve sending our troops to war?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: There is no convention that there will be a parliamentary vote and history shows that in many cases there has not been. The Labour Government as I pointed out a few moments ago when it sent the SAS in in a combat role did not actually take that to a parliamentary vote.Andrew Little: Is not the reality this: the only reason he will not put the decision to deploy troops to Iraq to a vote is that he cannot get the approval of this Parliament?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No. Every 3 years this country has a vote on the leadership shown by political parties. I am quite happy to put my leadership when it comes to the safety and security of New Zealanders to a very widespread vote in 2017.Andrew Little: Given his Government’s failure to secure a status of forces agreement with the Iraqi Government is he absolutely sure that a diplomatic passport gives the right for our troops to be armed and to defend themselves if necessary?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: That position is yet to be decided but I am totally confident—totally confident—that our forces when they go for their training mission will have all the legal requirements to carry out their functions.Andrew Little: Does he think that waving a diplomatic passport will get our troops out of trouble following a shooting in Iraq especially when the Iraqi Government has specifically refused to sign an agreement giving our troops rights over there? Is that the kind of risk he is prepared to take with our troops?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member is actually quite wrong in parts of his question but I can say that the matter was raised with the Iraqi Foreign Minister who gave us every confidence that the position would be resolved to ensure our forces have the absolute protection required.Andrew Little: Is being part of the club worth sending our soldiers to war without the authorisation of Parliament without a plan without legal authority and without any guarantee of their safety?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: There are 62 members who have decided that they in some part will play a role in standing up to evil in standing up to people who threaten New Zealanders and our values and principles. I suspect actually it was a very similar number when Helen Clark decided to send the engineers to Iraq. I suspect it is the same situation as when Helen Clark decided to send the SAS in a combat role. As is so often the case what we see from Labour is that it does one thing in Government and says another thing in Opposition.Andrew Little: Why does he not support Labour’s position to actually give the Iraqi Government the help that it has asked for—humanitarian support and reconstruction expertise?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: A number of things—firstly we are already giving humanitarian support $14.5 million. Secondly I would make the point that in our meeting with the Iraqi Foreign Minister the No. 1 thing that he asked for was security training—so the training of Iraqi security forces. I will make this one final point. It is a slightly warped sense of risk when the Leader of the Opposition thinks that the role New Zealand should play should be conducting air strikes when we do not have that capability as he has publicly said and secondly the reconstruction of roads schools and hospitals outside the wire in an environment where they would be subject to improvised explosive device attacks attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant—Hon Member: You’re making it up again.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well you cannot do them behind the wire sunshine.