Mr ABBOTT (Warringah—Prime Minister) (14:14): I thank the Deputy Leader of the Opposition for her question. She is absolutely right. Yesterday I did have a quite lengthy discussion with President Obama about a range of subjects: about the situation in the Middle East, about the upcoming G20, about matters in our region, and also about the Ebola crisis. Yes, our partners and allies would like us to do more, and we are carefully considering those requests. I do point out, though, that there is a world of difference between people volunteering to assist—and I salute their selfless humanitarianism—and people being ordered into a difficult and dangerous region. Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER: There will be silence on my left! Mr ABBOTT: Where personnel, such as military personnel, are being— Mr Conroy interjecting— Honourable members interjecting— The SPEAKER: There will be silence on my left! That includes the member for Charlton. Mr ABBOTT: deployed into any particular region, it is vital that risk mitigation strategies be in place— Mr Dutton interjecting— Honourable members interjecting— Mr ABBOTT: I love the assistance of my colleagues, but I would like some silence if that is okay. The SPEAKER: There will be silence all round. The Prime Minister has the call. Mr ABBOTT: Where it is proposed by the Australian government to order personnel into harm's way, it is absolutely critical that appropriate risk mitigation procedures be in place. As both the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Health have pointed out on numerous occasions, we are a 30-hour flight away from west Africa. It is impossible safely to evacuate personnel from west Africa to Australia, and as yet there are no facilities in-country which we believe could adequately handle Australian personnel who had been ordered to the area. Australia has initiated a number of conversations with our friends and partners. Those conversations are ongoing, and we are determined to do what we can to help, but the safety of Australian personnel must be paramount, the security of our region must be paramount and the security of our people must be paramount. And that is something that is my duty, and it is a duty that I am determined to discharge.