Mr McClelland (Barton) asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in writing, on 13 February 2007:
Has the Government produced or received any estimate of the number of people who have (a) been permanently incapacitated, (b) been permanently disfigured or (c) lost their lives in Iraq since the 2003 invasion of that country; if so, what is the estimate and what was the source of that information.
Mr Downer (Mayo—Minister for Foreign Affairs)—The answer to the honourable member’s question is as follows:
The Government remains concerned about the security situation in Iraq. There are no authoritative estimates on the total number of Iraqi civilian casualties, or the number permanently debilitated and disfigured. Estimates, and the methods used to compile them, vary widely.