Labor’s opposition to Iraq war ‘vindicated’, Richard Marles says

A 'NO WAR' slogan on the Sydney Opera House in 2003 after John Howard committed Australian troops to the invasion of Iraq. Richard Marles says Simon Crean’s declaration that the war was illegal has been vindicated. Photograph: Reuters

Richard Marles says opponents of the Iraq war have been vindicated, prompting fresh calls from campaigners to reform the Australian government’s war powers to prevent a repeat.

The defence minister, who is awaiting a report from a parliamentary inquiry into how the nation decides to engage in armed conflict, said such deployments were among the most significant any government could make.