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It was the most important decision of 2003, but discussions about sending Australian troops as part of the US-led invasion of Iraq represent only a fragment of hundreds of pages of never-before-seen cabinet documents.
Key points:
Cabinet documents from 2003 have been opened
The documents reveal some of the government’s high-level discussions, including about the Iraq War.
Much of the deliberations about the war have been kept secret, even though the then defense minister supported his release.
A six-page minutes reveal that then-Prime Minister John Howard held “extensive discussions over a period of time” with both US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair over the “possible use of force against Iraq.” if he can’t disarm himself.” .
The cabinet papers from 20 years ago were released as part of an annual shipment from the National Archives of Australia, after the documents’ confidentiality period expired.
Despite the dumping of 246 documents, there is still much that is not known about Australia’s involvement in the war, as most of the government’s high-level deliberations were conducted by an inner circle of ministers in the National Security Committee (NSC), with those records kept secret.
But this is what we do know.
March 18, 2003
March 18 would become the most important briefing the cabinet would have in 2003, according to historian David Lee.
That day, Howard told his cabinet that Iraq had “the potential to seriously harm Australia’s security” and posed a “real and unacceptable threat to international peace and security.”
“The risk of weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of terrorists constitutes one of the greatest current threats to the security of Australia and the entire international community,” the document reads.
It also shows that Howard told his cabinet that he received a “request” from Bush for Australia to join the military operation, and that the president would soon issue a “final ultimatum” to Iraq.
George Bush’s visit to Australia became controversial after the invasion of Iraq.(AAP: Mick Tsikas)
Shortly after the Australian cabinet met, Bush made a statement: “Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in a military conflict beginning at a time of our choosing.”
Back in Canberra, Howard announced Australia’s accession to what was called the “coalition of the willing” at a press conference in Canberra, saying it had been done to protect Australia’s “national interest”.
“The government firmly believes that the decision it has made is correct and legal,” he said.
“I realize that it is an extremely serious decision and I have thought about it a lot and it weighs heavily on me.
“This is the kind of thing that keeps you up at night.”
Despite Howard’s plea that day for Australians to support the decision, mass protests opposing Australia’s participation in the war took place, from the steps of Parliament to the city streets.
In a major public display, “NO TO WAR” was painted in large red letters on the sails of the Sydney Opera House.
Protests were held across Australia in opposition to the war.(AAP: Mick Tsikas)
Labor leader Simon Crean and his opposition opposed Australian participation.
“We are divided because the government and the prime minister have committed us to a war we should not be in,” Crean said in an address to the nation in March.
Robert Hill was then Australia’s defense minister.
Two decades later, he insisted Australia’s decision received strong public support.
“I think the cabinet’s view was that the majority of Australians thought the action that had been taken through the Australian government was justified,” he said.
Robert Hill believes the government made the right decision regarding Iraq based on the information it had at the time.(AAP: Peter Eva)
Although the mission was to find weapons of mass destruction (as it turned out there were none there), Hill continued to argue that it was the right decision.
“Based on the information we had at the time, we made what we believe was the right decision, and I still believe, based on that information, it was the right decision,” Hill said.
April 1, 2003
Aside from the brief briefing on March 18, the Iraq war barely received a mention at the full cabinet table.
The vast majority of government discussions about the war took place within a cabinet subgroup, the National Security Committee, which met regularly and relied on intelligence from spy agencies including ASIO.
The cabinet’s failure to maintain records related to Iraq is clear in a minute dated April 1, 2003.
The minutes of that meeting have only one sentence: “Cabinet noted an oral report by the Prime Minister on the progress of military operations in Iraq and the contribution made by the Australian Defense Force.”
A protest against the Iraq war in front of Parliament.(David Foote)
Although most of the discussions about the Iraq War took place at the NSC, those records have not been made public, but both Hill and historian Associate Professor Lee supported their publication in the interest of transparency.
“What we hope to see in due course is the publication of those records, which will help give a more complete picture of the decision-making,” said historian Dr Lee.
Climate change and SARS on the agenda
Records show that climate change was an issue the government continued to wrestle with in 2003, and the cabinet discussed an emissions trading system on September 8.
But records showed the government decided to object after Howard met with industry leaders.
Climate change, bushfires and SARS were among the major issues facing the government in 2003.(David Foote)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) also landed on the cabinet table, with ministers noting on April 1 that there were possible cases in Australia, while quarantine measures were being taken at major airports.
The Cabinet also discussed the security arrangements made for Bush’s visit to Canberra, which would prove highly controversial.
Protests took place both outside and inside parliament, by two Greens MPs.
What’s old is new again
One of the surprising elements of the 2003 Cabinet papers, as has been the case in previous years, is that many of the issues discussed then remain topics of heated debate today.
Among the key issues: the “desirability” of “resolving the protracted Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” free trade agreements, the “national interest,” the fuel tax and relations with both the United States and China.
Also at the center of political attention, as in 2023, were indigenous issues.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) was under review and would soon be scrapped, something Hill admitted was the wrong decision.
“On ATSIC, I think we made the wrong decision… it would have been better for Australia for ATSIC to continue,” he told the ABC.
He also admitted that the Howard government was wrong to refuse to apologize to the Stolen Generations.
The Coalition would win a fourth and final term the following year.