Goff Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeGoff Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 11 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1463. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]12.Hon PHIL GOFF (Labour—Mt Roskill)to the Minister of Defence: Does he stand by his statement this morning that comments about sending troops to Iraq being the price of being part of the club were “unfortunate”?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister of Defence):The comment that the questioner refers to was from a Radio New Zealand interview this morning. The topic of the interview was related to the possible contribution New Zealand might make to the fight against ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and I made it clear that my comment referred to comments made by the British Foreign Secretary clearly confusing “club” for “family”. I stand by my comments.Hon Phil Goff: When this morning on radio he described the comments of his leader the Prime Minister as being unfortunate was that because currying favour with other club members is a poor reason to give for putting the lives of New Zealand soldiers at risk?Hon Gerry Brownlee: As I have just said that was not my intention. I misunderstood the intent of the question from the radio interviewer and I confused two things: club and family. I stand by my comment—which was meant to be that the British Foreign Secretary’s comment last week saying that we were part of the family and expected to turn up was inappropriate.Hon Phil Goff: If it is not for the reason of being part of the club what is the justification for putting Kiwi soldiers in harm’s way to train the Iraqi army when 10 years and $25 billion worth of efforts by the United States to train that army has failed to end the incompetence the poor leadership and the corruption of that army?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: For a start there has been no decision to do any of the things that Mr Goff is suggesting. We have been very open with the public that we are looking at how we might contribute to the fight against ISIL and if anybody wonders why we are even looking at it they have only to look at events in Sydney this morning.Hon Phil Goff: Why do human rights abuses by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria apparently require our military intervention when years of similarly appalling abuses by Boko Haram and by President al-Assad of Syria have attracted so little comment and no action from his Government?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: The first point would be that this Government does condemn those atrocities committed by the people the member lists. There is no question about that. But when there is an opportunity to do something as there may be as we conduct our investigations then that becomes a point where you do something about nipping in the bud the very organisation that appears to be funding a lot of these other ratbags around the world.Hon Phil Goff: Why was he pretending yesterday that contingency training for an Iraq deployment was about to begin when his own office admitted more than 2 months ago on 2 December that that contingency training for deployment was already under way?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: That is the popular interpretation Mr Goff likes to put on things. What happened before Christmas I am informed is that the Chief of Defence Force did say he wanted some people trained for a general mission to the Middle East. We have made it specific that they should train for Iraq. New Zealand troops are very good at training and becoming familiar with the culture they are going to be entering into and that is why they have such a good reputation around the world. It is appropriate that they make some preparations but I stress again that no decision has been made. The information we need to make that decision is not available at this point.Hon Phil Goff: I seek to table a quote from the Minister’s own office by his spokesman saying that the contingency had already started for—Mr SPEAKER: Order! It is effectively a press release the member is seeking to table.Hon Phil Goff: Oh it would have been quoted in the media. I probably got it from the Parliamentary Library.Mr SPEAKER: I am not prepared to put the leave.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Unlike a previous Minister of Defence I am not led by the nose by staff in my office.Mr SPEAKER: Order! And that is not a point of order.