Forceful farewell
By REBEKAH CAVANAGH, NT News
16oct05

PRIME Minister John Howard officially farewelled Darwin-based troops to Iraq yesterday amid criticism of his Government's decision to build a nuclear waste facility in the Territory.

Speaking at Robertson Barracks, Mr Howard said if NT Chief Minister Clare Martin could persuade her Labor colleagues to put the depository elsewhere he would be prepared to listen.

"But I don't think that is going to happen," Mr Howard said.

The Chief Minister has written to Mr Howard telling him the NT intends to fight him over the nuclear facility legislation because it was an assault on the rights of Territorians.

"I have told Mr Howard that Territorians should not be subjected to this unprecedented attack on their democratic rights as Australians," Ms Martin said.

"This far-reaching piece of Commonwealth legislation takes away our rights to decide what happens in the Territory.

"The only reason it is happening is because we are a Territory and not a State."

Mr Howard said yesterday it was not a question of the Territory being discriminated against.

"Everyone is adopting the attitude of 'not in my backyard' and in the end we can't just have the waste float out into the stratosphere, so it's not as simple as that and there has to be a solution," he said.

Mr Howard said that the Government had to solve the problem.

"We started as a country 13 years ago to try and solve the issue of a nuclear waste dump," he said.

"We had an agreement and then when it came for that to be located in a particular part of Australia all of the states and territories ran away from it. This issue has to be brought to a head and it will be."

Meanwhile, hundreds of troops, children, husbands and wives gathered at Robertson Barracks for a the family barbecue farewell day yesterday.

The 450 Australian Defence Force soldiers, who form the next rotation of the Al Muthanna task group in southern Iraq, are expected to fly to the Middle East this month.

Mr Howard told the troops at the farewell they were extremely well trained and prepared, but understood that the families of those leaving face the next six months with anxiety.

"No military task is without danger, we all understand that, but this is a task for which you've been superbly trained and prepared," he said.

"I wish you Godspeed, good luck and above all a very safe return home."

The 450 troops -- mainly from the 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, from Darwin's 1st Brigade -- may be the last Australian contingent to Iraq.

Army chief Lieutenant General Peter Leahy said the troops were the best prepared force Australia would send overseas in a long time.