Mark Ron: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMark Ron: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 26 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:3938. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]5.RON MARK (NZ First) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.Ron Mark: When he said in the House “Get some guts” was he talking to the Opposition parties or to the Iraqi Army which has been in retreat for the last 2 months and was routed at Ramadi by a force that it outnumbered ten to one?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well really specifically I was speaking to the Leader of the Opposition who I think in his heart of hearts knows that the right thing for this country to do on a bipartisan basis is to actually stand up to the people who undertake these atrocities and I hope that he will eventually see it our way because we are right on this side of the House.Ron Mark: Does he stand by his statement “If Iraq is to gain control of its cities it will need strong and well-trained forces.”; if so does he not realise that you cannot train cowards to fight?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: In terms of the first part of the question yes you do need strong forces; in terms of the latter part of the question I think that the member should really probably reflect on that. To put that generalisation across a whole country’s population is either foolhardy or harsh. He can choose which one he prefers.Ron Mark: When he received his most recent briefing from the Defence Force on Iraq did that briefing state that there was a possibility that our troops would be surrounded at Camp Taji?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I am not going to go into the individual briefings I get because I think that it would not be in the national interest to do so but what I am quite prepared to say is that the safety and security of our men and women who are in Taji airbase is our No. 1 priority. There is obviously work done to make sure we continually assess that situation. There is a variety of trigger points that we would look at if we thought that it was appropriate to bring our people home and we have always said that we would do that. But I am quite comfortable in the advice I have at the moment that notwithstanding it is obviously a dangerous environment in Iraq our people are in the safest position they can be in actually—in Taji airbase.Ron Mark: Does the Prime Minister agree with the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey who said that the Iraqi security force “was not driven out of Ramadi. They drove out of Ramadi.”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I am not going to be a Monday morning quarterback on what happened in Ramadi but I have seen the comments from Prime Minister al-Abadi who said that they are keen to retake that ground. Certainly the advice that we have had is that some ground was lost and some ground was gained. But if you take a step back on the overall thing if the member’s logic is followed to the obvious conclusion what he is basically saying is that Iraq should surrender itself to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). I simply say to the member that if he thinks that is not going to increase the risks to New Zealanders then it is really unbelievable. If the member wants to go out there and tell New Zealanders that he is quite prepared through his own inactions to put them at greater risk then he is welcome to go and campaign on doing that. But he will run a million miles from that when I start pointing it out publicly and that is what I intend to do.Ron Mark: Does he think that troops who flee and leave tanks and artillery worth millions of dollars behind and troops who flee when they outnumber the enemy ten to one are able and capable of being trained to fight?Mr SPEAKER: In so far as there is prime ministerial responsibility the right honourable Prime Minister.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: All I can say is that if you listen to the Chief of Defence Force he is very confident of the training capability that our people have. He has seen that demonstrated in places like Afghanistan where we have made a difference and I am confident actually that in time we will make a difference in improving the skills of the Iraqis.Ron Mark: What is the Prime Minister’s view of Ash Carter the United States Secretary of Defense who said “What apparently happened was that the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight. They were not outnumbered. In fact they vastly outnumbered the opposing force … that says to me and I think to most of us that we have an issue with the will of Iraqis to fight ISIL and defend themselves.”? What is the Prime Minister’s view of that statement?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I am the Prime Minister of New Zealand not a commentator on what other politicians around the world say.Ron Mark: Does he not realise that he sent our brave New Zealand soldiers to Iraq on a fool’s errand and the training the Iraqi Army to stand and fight is literally Mission: Impossible?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No. What I do think is that ISIL presents a threat not only in the region but also presents a regional threat to countries that New Zealanders travel to and I think it presents a domestic threat. The member can sit there all he likes and say that we should abdicate our responsibilities and do nothing but I simply say to the member that that would put them at greater risk. I think that if you look at the public polling that has been undertaken on this matter the most recent poll that we saw in the New Zealand Herald indicated that on a ratio of 3:1 New Zealanders actually do think we should do something to protect ourselves from people who are abhorrent. If the member does not believe in doing that I am quite surprised because he is a former military man and I would have thought he would understand that.Hon Phil Goff: When the Prime Minister said the trigger for changing his stance on deployment to Iraq was if the New Zealand Defence Force thought there was “an absolute threat” to New Zealand troops how does he define “absolute threat”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: That is the very point—I do not. They decide that. T are the ones who tell us through their advice. On the back of our advice we will decide whether they come or no but they define the risks.