Aussie anti-war senators heckle Bush in parliament
Both minority Green Party MPs, Senator Bob Brown and Senator Kerry Nettle, were ordered out of the chamber, but refused to leave. Brown even shook Bush’s hand after the address that was capped by a standing ovation.
The son of a terror suspect being held by US authorities at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba was removed from the public gallery.
Brown was the first to interrupt Bush, as the president said people should be happy that Saddam Hussein’s regime had been toppled in Iraq. When a parliamentary official motioned for Brown to leave, he shook his head and sat in his seat.
When Bush paid tribute to Australia for promoting peace in Southeast Asia, Brown shouted: “But we are not a sheriff.”
It was a reference to Bush’s recent comment that Australia was a lawman in the war on terror.
When Nettle shouted protests about the war in Iraq, Bush sipped water, smiled broadly and said: “I love free speech” to applause from government lawmakers. Some Labour MPs made a muted protest by remaining seated in their green leather chairs during a standing ovation at the end of the speech.
