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Treasurer responds following former defence minister Kevin Andrews’s call for Australia to put ‘boots on the ground’ in Syria
The treasurer, Scott Morrison, warned against a “hot-headed” response to the crisis in Syria, following the intervention of the former defence minister, Kevin Andrews, who has called on Australia to put boots on the ground.
Andrews, an Abbott loyalist who lost the defence portfolio following September’s leadership spill, has taken a swipe at the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, over his strategy in the Middle East.
“Australia has an opportunity to engage in greater leadership,” Andrews wrote in an opinion piece in the Australian Financial Review. “Our efforts in training Iraqi forces is commendable, but insufficient.”
Andrews said the United States was creating a “false choice between the current approach and a full-scale invasion of Syria”.
He urged a “concerted campaign by coalition special operations forces”, as well as greater collaboration with Russia and a political solution that reinstalls Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.
Morrison said the Turnbull government’s policy of conducting airstrikes in Syria and Iraq was in line with that of former prime minister Tony Abbott.
“If there were to be any change to that, this would need to be a matter which was considered amongst the coalition forces, not by any unilateral position of Australia,” he told reporters in Canberra on Monday.
“To suggest that we should take some unilateral action in this area, I would find very surprising,” Morrison said. “I’m sure that’s not what the former defence minister would be suggesting. That would be contrary to everything that was previously being done and equally under his own administration.
“It’s important in these situations that we remain very calm and that we work in concert with our partners in this theatre and that we don’t have some sort of hot-headed response to these issues,” he said. “You can expect the government to be considering all matters that would ensure we do that and that means continuing the strong presence that we have.”
On Monday, the House of Representatives debated a Labor bill to hold a parliamentary debate within the next sitting fortnight on Australia’s defence strategy in Iraq and Syria. The motion was originally brought forward by the shadow foreign minister, Tanya Plibersek, in October.
Before that, in September, Abbott announced Australia would take part in US-led airstrikes in Syria, after receiving a formal request from the Obama administration. Australia was already conducting airstrikes over Iraq, and hastroops there to train Iraqi forces to help combat the influence of extremist group, Isis.
Since being ousted as prime minister, Abbott has called for more direct involvement in Syria. Last week he urged the government to send special forces troops into the country in order to destroy the “terrorist caliphate” created by Isis.
The justice minister, Michael Keenan, downplayed any suggestion of a rift within the government as a result of the public airing of defence policy differences.
“These are important and fundamental issues, and anyone who wants to contribute to it from the coalition party room I think should be encouraged to do it,” he told reporters on Monday.
