MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
As concern spreads in Australia about what our latest military intervention in Iraq is for and where it will end, Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR) is targeting MPs and Senators with a call to change the way our troops are sent to war.
All Federal parliamentarians will receive a book of short essays, “How Does Australia Go To War?”, on the political, military, legal and ethical implications of Australia’s current practice. It points out that in Australia – and in only a few other democracies – the prime minister can decide to commit troops to war without a parliamentary debate or vote, and without any review of the war’s progress or outcome.
The book, which was edited by former diplomat Dr Alison Broinowski, will be launched on Wednesday at 4 pm in Parliament House, by Labor MP Melissa Parke, Greens Senator Scott Ludlam and Independent MP Andrew Wilkie. Details of the launch are attached.
AWPR President Paul Barratt, a former Secretary of Defence, said the campaign’s polling in October last year showed clear support among Australians for closer scrutiny of how troops are sent to war. Change is urgently needed to prevent disasters like the 2003 invasion of Iraq from being repeated.
