Howard's address to parliament on the release of Wood

CANBERRA - Text of Prime Minister John Howard's address to parliament on the release of Australian hostage Douglas Wood.

"Mr Speaker, I am delighted to inform the House that the Australian hostage in Iraq, Mr Douglas Wood, is safe from his captors.

Mr Wood was recovered a short while ago in Baghdad in a military operation that I'm told was conducted by Iraqi forces, in cooperation in a general way with force elements of the United States.

He's now under the protection of the Australian Emergency Response Team in Baghdad.

I understand that he is well.

He's undergoing medical checks at the present time.

I know that all Australians will be jubilant at this news.

This man has suffered immensely and I want, on behalf of all of the parliament, to pay tribute to the dignity and strength of his family.

He comes from a deeply impressive family and the strength and resolve and courage that his brothers and the other members of his family have displayed, their understanding of the difficulty of this whole incident for all involved has been, I can only say, very deeply impressive.

The cooperation between the government and the members of his family I want to record I appreciate very much.

That we, of course, have focused very much on his wellbeing and returning him to his family.

I don't at this stage, for operational reasons want to comment further on the circumstances of his recovery.

I want to place on record the government's great appreciation to the officers of the government who have done such wonderful work.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has displayed superb professionalism throughout this whole incident.

The work of Mr Nick Warner who has been the head of the Emergency Response Team has been quite exemplary and I want to pay a special tribute to Nick.

He's an officer who's known to many of us and he's done great things for Australia, not only in Iraq, but also in the Solomon Islands.

I want of course to thank the special forces and the other members of the Emergency Response Team that went to Iraq.

Brigadier McCabe and all of the units in Iraq that have been associated with this.

Can I also pay special tribute to the contribution of the minister for foreign affairs who has had the day-to-day carriage of this on behalf of the government and may I also thank the opposition, the leader of the opposition and the member for Griffith for their understanding at every stage of the difficulties involved and the need for us to unite to save an Australian and this has brought out some of the best things in our people.

I also place on record my appreciation for the efforts of the Australian Islamic community and of Sheikh (Taj Aldin) Alhilali.

Many have people have tried, we are overwhelmed with relief, nothing compared of course with the relief that his family must now feel.

Can I also say that at no stage has a ransom been paid, at no stage has the government compromised its position in relation to our commitment to Iraq, the level of our force commitment and I want to reiterate our commitment to the stability and reconstruction of Iraq and to the Iraqi people who are daily, the victims of terrorism and crime.

I did endeavour before making this statement to contact the Iraqi prime minister, I'll do so, I hope very shortly to express my thanks for the efforts of his forces and may I record again our thanks to our American friends for their constant support and availability and cooperation, it is a wonderful outcome for this man who suffered so much and it's a tribute to the work of our Iraqi and American friends that this has come about."

- AAP