Anderton Jim: Ministerial Statements — Iraq—New Zealand Assistance 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Anderton Jim: Ministerial Statements — Iraq—New Zealand Assistance 
[Sitting date: 10 June 2003. Volume:609;Page:6046. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Minister for Economic Development) 
: 
 Members of New Zealand’s military forces who are going to Iraq and Afghanistan go with the goodwill of all members of this coalition Government and I am sure with the good wishes of the majority of all members of the House. 
When Keith Locke accused the Government of being sycophantic to our friends and allies National Party members laughed at him but those members actually said exactly the same thing. So I was laughing when they said that. I do not know what there is about United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 that National ACT and New Zealand First or the Greens for that matter do not understand and I wish sometimes that the facts would not get in the way of somebody’s prejudice. 
The Security Council resolution states: “noting that other States that are not occupying powers are working now or in the future may work under the authority.” That is what the United Nations Security Council notes. Then it welcomes further “the willingness of member States to contribute to stability and security in Iraq by contributing personnel equipment and other resources under the authority.” That is exactly what this Government is doing right now. Is there any member in this House who says that we should act against the United Nations Security Council resolution? We are a small nation dependent on the rule of law in the international community that the United Nations upholds and that as a foundation member of the United Nations we also should uphold. 
The United Nations Security Council resolution goes further I say to Mr Locke and appeals to member States that are in a position to do so to respond immediately to the humanitarian appeals of the United Nations and other international organisations for Iraq and to help meet the humanitarian and other needs of the Iraqi people by providing food medical supplies and the resources necessary for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Iraq’s economic infrastructure. Is there anything about that that any member does not understand? That is an appeal from the United Nations Security Council. The Prime Minister and other members of this Government said that when the United Nations appeals to anyone to do something and gives a mandate to do it which is what Resolution 1483 does then this country will respond and it has. 
On the one hand it is the height of hypocrisy for members opposite to accuse this Government of sycophantically crawling up to our allies yet when the United Nations Security Council calls for us to take action and we do we get the same accusations of sycophancy. I say to those people who are urging us to go into battle in Iraq in order to appease our allies that they are the ones who are acting sycophantically. This Government was acting in principle and still is under the United Nations mandate. We are proud of what we have done and we are proud of what our people will do in both Iraq and Afghanistan.