22nd Mar 2018, 12:01 PM – Senate Motions - Iraq War - 15th anniversary since commencement

The majority voted in favour of this motion, which means it was successful. Motions like these don't make any legal change by themselves but they can be politically influential as they represent the will of the Senate.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that 20 March 2018 marked the fifteenth anniversary of the commencement of the Iraq War;

(b) recalls the motion passed by the Senate on 20 March 2003, which stated that 'there should be no commitment of Australian troops to a war in Iraq outside the authority of the United Nations', and opposed 'the decision of the Australian Cabinet and the President of the United States of America to commit troops to an attack on Iraq';

(c) recognises that the decision of the Australian Government to commit Australian troops and provide support to the invasion of Iraq was made in the face of opposition of the majority of the Australian community, as well as the Senate;

(d) notes with deep sadness that the 2003 invasion of Iraq unleashed a catastrophe in every respect, and caused an enormous amount of additional suffering; ...