Mapp Wayne: Urgent Debates — SAS—Deployment to Afghanistan 
Mapp Wayne: Urgent Debates — SAS—Deployment to Afghanistan 
[Volume:656;Page:5608] 
Hon Dr WAYNE MAPP (Minister of Defence) 
: 
 I seek leave to speak for 10 minutes. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Rick Barker) 
: Leave is sought; is there any objection? There being none it is so agreed. 
Hon Dr WAYNE MAPP 
: It is now 8 years since the New Zealand Defence Force was first deployed to Afghanistan. During that time its personnel have provided civil reconstruction and security and has directly engaged al-Qaeda and its Taliban supporters. In all of those roles they have brought great credit to the professionalism of the New Zealand Defence Force and indeed to New Zealand. Many including Corporal Willy Apiata VC have been highly decorated for their bravery and their leadership. Their contributions have been highly valued and they are so today. 
It is appropriate that New Zealanders ask what we intend to achieve in the future. Today’s debate the discussion in the media and the letters and emails are centred on that question. Most people including members of the Green Party accept that we have a role to play in Afghanistan; the question in essence is what kind of role that should be. We need to recall the principal reason why we first went to Afghanistan: it was September 11 al-Qaeda had its base in Afghanistan and the Taliban Government of Afghanistan was unwilling to eject al-Qaeda and ensure it was brought to international justice. It was intolerable that a Government should provide a safe haven to terrorists who had perpetrated the worst terrorist incident in history. It is worth recalling that New Zealanders have died in each of the al-Qaeda directed and inspired incidents including September 11 and those in London Bali and most recently Jakarta. We have a duty to our fellow New Zealanders to deal directly with the sources of terrorism. 
The Taliban Government was defeated in 2002 by an international coalition that included New Zealand. There was specific United Nations Security Council authorisation for that action—resolutions 1368 and 1373. There is a continuing annual Security Council resolution to support the NATO - International Security Assistance Force to which New Zealand currently contributes. The challenge is to produce a sufficiently stable Afghanistan so that it does not once again become a haven for terrorists. That was the case in 2003 and 2004 when the SAS was deployed and it is the case today. During the 2008 presidential campaign in the United States Barack Obama understood the importance of focusing on Afghanistan and that there had been neglect in the rebuilding of Afghanistan. 
In February this year at the NATO - International Security Assistance Force Defence Ministers conference in Cracow I put New Zealand’s case that we needed a more sophisticated approach to Afghanistan and that the goal of the NATO - International Security Assistance Force mission should be specifically to deal with the risks of terrorism to build the institutions of civil governance and to enable the reconciliation of political factions within Afghanistan including the moderate elements of the Taliban. Reference was also made by me and others to a more discriminating use of defence forces to minimise the risk to the Afghani population. Those views were widely shared particularly amongst the European NATO - International Security Assistance Force partners and by Australia. 
In April this year the NATO - International Security Assistance Force partners set out a new strategy that adopted many of those concerns. It involves an increased commitment of defence forces to build renewed security within the country. The reason for that is to prevent the country from reverting to Taliban control and providing a safe haven for terrorists particularly al-Qaeda. Of course that involves the strengthening of the Afghani Government and of the Afghani security forces. I note that the Afghani Government itself has a role to play in being more inclusive and that was referred to by Mr Locke. It must find an effective way to reconcile all of the peoples of Afghanistan including the moderate parts of the Taliban. The NATO - International Security Assistance Force partners—and they include New Zealand—are taking a dual approach. The approach involves building the security of Afghanistan and the civil reconstruction of the country. That is not just the physical infrastructure such as the building of schools health clinics roading and electrical distribution; it also involves improving civil governance such as the training of the police force the judiciary and the civil service. As has been noted by my colleague Mr McCully it also means the full observance of humanitarian law by the Afghani Government and as has been noted today that has been agreed to just recently by written documentation by the Afghani Government that it will respect a commitment to international humanitarian norms. 
In the longer term those things will be key to a stable Afghanistan a country that will not threaten or perhaps more particularly allow its territory to be used by others who would threaten wider international peace. That is the specific interest that New Zealand has. New Zealand’s current deployments in both the provincial reconstruction team and the deployment of the New Zealand SAS meet those needs. New Zealand’s engagement in Afghanistan requires a contribution to both security and civil reconstruction. The current surge is intended to change the security situation. Clearly it is risky to members of the SAS but it is also risky to the provincial reconstruction team and has been for many many months. That was the case before the surge and it reinforced the recognition last year that the situation in Afghanistan had to be turned round. I recognise that New Zealanders will need to see an improvement over the next 12 months or so. That is the expectation of all the peoples in the NATO - International Security Assistance Force countries—all 42 countries—and of course of the people of Afghanistan. 
If Afghanistan fell into the hands of radical Taliban it would become an uncontested home for al-Qaeda. That is an intolerable risk. We need to know what the stakes are here. New Zealanders have been killed in terrorist attacks. We are protecting ourselves by dealing with terrorism in the very place where it has its source and Afghanistan is that place. By our presence there and by our commitments announced last week we will protect ourselves and our values.