Goff Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeGoff Phil: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 22 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:124. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]7.Hon PHIL GOFF (Labour—Mt Roskill)to the Prime Minister: Why has he changed his pre-election commitment not to deploy New Zealand Special Forces to Iraq to his post-election statement that deployment is “definitely an option”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):This is a rapidly evolving issue and countries including New Zealand are having to consider the issue as it intensifies. The increasing threats from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the global response will require New Zealand to carefully consider this issue. Therefore officials are preparing advice for Ministers and Cabinet to consider a range of options including humanitarian diplomatic and military contributions. I would stress that no decisions have been taken at this time. As members know my least preferred option is to deploy the SAS but I expect it to be part of the range of options. Over the last few months countries around the world have been considering their contributions to the coalition to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and New Zealand shares the international community’s outrage at its brutal actions. We have seen clear evidence of what this group is capable of doing.Hon Phil Goff: When he said on 16 June without any qualification that he ruled out New Zealand special forces being deployed to Iraq—even in an advisory capacity he said—where in that assurance did he warn New Zealanders that straight after the election suddenly sending special forces to Iraq was definitely an option?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: For a start off let me make it clear: that was the best information and advice I had at the time and I believed it to be correct at the time. What I can say is the issue is evolving. I stand by the view that I have expressed which is that sending the SAS is the least preferred option of the Government but as I have said when I have been asked these questions the Government will get a range of options presented to it. We do not pick and choose those options that are presented to us; we pick and choose the options we ultimately want to deploy.Hon Phil Goff: When he told the country last week that the New Zealand Chief of Defence Force was attending just a regular meeting in Washington is he telling the House that neither the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet the Ministry of Defence or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had informed him that President Obama would be addressing that meeting and the specific purpose of that meeting was to map out a strategy of military commitments to that war when that was in the International News Services wires 12 hours before he made that outrageous comment?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: It is only outrageous if it is incorrect and it was absolutely correct. We were not aware that President Obama was going down to speak to the meeting and taking the White House press corps with him. That has been confirmed by the Chief of Defence Force.Hon Phil Goff: Why does he believe that Western-led military intervention to remove ISIS will be more successful than Western-led military intervention to remove oppressive regimes in Iraq in 2003 and Libya in 2011 both of which he supported and both of which were spectacularly unsuccessful with disastrous unintended consequences?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Firstly given the member’s previous roles the differences between the situation in Iraq today and then will hopefully not be lost on him. In 2003 there was a situation where there was action taken to oust a regime. Whatever one thinks of that that was the view that was taken against a regime that was believed to be oppressive. The current situation is quite different in Iraq. It is one where the Iraqi Government is actually asking both the United States I think and countries from around the world to give them support against ISIS. ISIS is an organisation that we have designated as a terrorist group. ISIS is an organisation that I believe presents both international regional and domestic threats. It may be extremely convenient or easy for the member to be in Opposition and to not care about the responsibilities that I have as Prime Minister but I am not going to walk away from those responsibilities. I think that member should himself be very very careful indeed about the claims that he makes because I can assure the member that the actions I will be taking are those that are in the best interests of New Zealanders even if he can afford the luxury of not doing so.Hon Phil Goff: Why does it make sense for New Zealand to be part of a so-called coalition of the willing of 22 military countries represented at the meeting in Washington and to make a decision to put the lives of New Zealand soldiers at risk when two members of that coalition of the willing NATO ally Turkey and American ally Saudi Arabia have both supported ISIS and Saudi Arabia in fact is the major provider of weaponry and funding to the ISIS terrorists?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well it is not the Saudi royal family who are in that position. There may be individual people who live in Saudi Arabia who happen to—Hon Phil Goff: They allow it to happen.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well if the member is aware of what Saudi Arabia is doing then he must also be aware that they gave half a billion dollars of humanitarian aid and are seriously considering what their next steps might be to combat ISIS. You cannot rule out that there are individual people who live in Saudi Arabia who happen to believe in the particular form of Islamic faith that ISIS is following. I will go back to the original point. In the end the Government will consider what is in the best interests of New Zealanders. The Government will act to do the right thing by New Zealanders even if he as the spokesman for the Opposition chooses to ignore what the right thing for New Zealanders is.