as to why John will not be the one to come up with a great environmental plan of action.
And this from a country that could get all of it’s energy needs from solar power !! Clean, ok, expensive to set up , but then free, and long term more a profitable investment, and we have so much of it, just convert sections of the dessert into solar panels
Nelson: Oil a Factor in Iraq Deployment
The Age, Australia
Thursday 05 July 2007
The Howard Government has today admitted that securing oil supplies is a factor in Australia’s continued military involvement in Iraq.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said today oil was a factor in Australia’s contribution to the unpopular war, as "energy security" and stability in the Middle East would be crucial to the nation’s future.
Speaking ahead of today’s key foreign policy speech by Prime Minister John Howard, Dr Nelson said defence was about protecting the economy as well as physical security.
Dr Nelson also said it was important to support the "prestige" of the US and UK.
"The defence update we’re releasing today sets out many priorities for Australia’s defence and security, and resource security is one of them," he told ABC radio.
"The entire (Middle East) region is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world.
"Australians and all of us need to think well what would happen if there were a premature withdrawal from Iraq?"
Federal Opposition leader Kevin Rudd has attacked Dr Nelson’s comments, saying they contradict what the Howard Government said when the war began.
"When Mr Howard was asked back in 2003 whether this war had anything to do with oil, Mr Howard said in no way did it have anything to do with oil," Mr Rudd told reporters in Sydney today.
"This Government simply makes it up as it goes along on Iraq."
Dr Nelson said the primary reason for Australian troops remaining in Iraq was to prevent violence between the Sunni and Shia population, and to bring stability to the region.
"We’re also there to support our key ally – that’s the United States of America – and we’re there to ensure that we don’t have terrorism driven from Iraq which would destabilise our own region," he said.
"For all of those reasons, one of which is energy security, it’s extremely important that Australia take the view that it’s in our interests… to make sure we leave the Middle East and leave Iraq in particular in a position of sustainable security."
Isolationism would not make Australia safer, he said.
When Australia joined the US-led invasion force of Iraq in 2003, the Government said it was primarily because Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that could pose a threat to the US and its allies.
Mr Rudd, who spoke to journalists after delivering a speech to the Lowy Institute on tackling the root causes of terrorism, said it had been a mistake to send troops into Iraq.
"Mr Howard should follow Labor’s lead and have a clear cut exit strategy from Iraq," he said.
"Australia’s involvement in the Iraq war continues to make Australia a greater terrorism target than we’d otherwise be."
Australia "Has Iraq Oil Interest"
BBC News
Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson has admitted that securing oil supplies is a key factor behind the presence of Australian troops in Iraq.
He said maintaining "resource security" in the Middle East was a priority.
But PM John Howard has played down the comments, saying it was "stretching it a bit" to conclude that Australia’s Iraq involvement was motivated by oil.
The remarks are causing heated debate as the US-led Iraq coalition has avoided linking the war and oil.
Oil Concerns
Australia was involved in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and has about 1,500 military personnel still deployed in the region.
There are no immediate plans to bring them home.
In comments to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Mr Nelson admitted that the supply of oil had influenced Australia’s strategic planning in the region.
"Obviously the Middle East itself, not only Iraq but the entire region, is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world," he said.
"Australians and all of us need to think what would happen if there were a premature withdrawal from Iraq.
"It’s in our interests, our security interests, to make sure that we leave the Middle East, and leave Iraq in particular, in a position of sustainable security."
This is thought to be the first time the Australian government has admitted any link between troop deployment in Iraq and securing energy resources.
But Prime Minister John Howard was quick to play down the significance of his defence minister’s comments.
"We didn’t go there because of oil and we don’t remain there because of oil," he told a local radio station.
"A lot of oil comes from the Middle East – we all know that – but the reason we remain there is that we want to give the people of Iraq a possibility of embracing democracy," he added.
Opposition Criticism
Opposition politicians, though, have chastised Mr Howard’s government over the comments.
"This government simply makes it up as it goes along on Iraq," Labor leader Kevin Rudd told reporters.
Anti-war protesters say the government’s admission proves that the US-led invasion was more of a grab for oil rather than a genuine attempt to uncover weapons of mass destruction.
But ministers in Canberra have brushed aside the criticism, saying they remain committed to helping the US stabilise Iraq and combat terrorism.
They have also stressed that there will be no "premature withdrawal" of Australian forces from the region.
