Kiwis will be killed too, warns Australian PM

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has delivered a blunt message to Kiwis: our geographical isolation will not protect us from the reach of terrorist group Islamic State.

‘‘We have seen two terrorist incidents already in Australia, which have been inspired by the death cult, and were we to see more terrorist incidents in Australia, sooner or later, given the number of Kiwis in Australia, Kiwis would invariably be involved,’’ he said.

‘‘So, we might not want to join these fights . . . but these fights are reaching out to us, and that’s why it’s important that we, in a prudent and proportionate manner, get involved.’’

Prime Minister John Key said the risk extended to Muslim countries on ‘‘our border’’, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, from where a number of socalled ‘‘foreign fighters’’ recruited to the IS cause came. There were also New Zealand-born foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria.

But Labour leader Andrew Little accused Key of scaremongering. ‘‘The idea that [Indonesia and Malaysia] somehow pose a threat because of their Muslim populations is deliberately overblowing it,’’ he said.

The latest war of words follows heated debate over New Zealand’s deployment of 143 troops to Iraq in a non-combat role.

New Zealand’s contribution is dwarfed by that of Australia, which has already deployed 200 special forces soldiers and an air combat capability.

Abbott confirmedAustralia planned to stand ‘‘shoulder to shoulder’’ with the New Zealand contingent on a joint training mission. But there are no details – New Zealand officials were expecting Australia to sign off the deployment before Abbott’s arrival in New Zealand.