Sending Australians to War

Today the Medical Association for the Prevention of War (MAPW – www.mapw.org.au) released a paper I had written for them on the desirability of relocating to the Australian Federal Parliament the decision making power concerning the deployment of the Australian Defence Force into hostilities or situations likely to lead to hostilities.

This short document develops three key themes:

-  The decision to send Australian troops to war can be taken by Cabinet without Parliamentary debate. This has resulted in misleading claims, lack of clarity, and questions on the legality and legitimacy of such decisions.

-  Requiring the Government to submit a case for war to Parliament would improve the quality of Australian governance.

-  The Australian Government should convene an inquiry into the Iraq War.

Read the full document available for download here.

To accompany the launch I wrote a longer piece for the ABC’s The Drum website – see it here.

This led to an interview with Fran Kelly on this morning’s Radio National Breakfast: listen here.

For earlier posts on this subject see War Powers Bill, War Powers: what the PM said, War Powers Bill: Pre-emptive self-defence, War Powers Submission, George Williams on the War Powers Bill, War Powers Bill crushed by major parties, A Supplementary Note on Parliamentary Approval and War Powers Bill: disclosure of intelligence.

See also Rushing willingly into Iraq.