Howard said the five, all experts in their areas, would be joined at the weekend by a sixth official in the Kuwait-based Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Affairs (ORHA) under retired US Army General Jay Garner, who will head the interim administration.

"We have an officer from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade which is attached very closely to the chief of staff's office and is working very closely with General Garner," Howard told a media forum in Brisbane.

An officer from Australia's overseas aid agency AusAID would assist with humanitarian relief issues, and a defence expert would work in contingency planning for the post-conflict phase in Iraq.

"We have an agricultural expert preparing the way for a larger Australian advisory team providing analysis of key areas of Iraq's need in the agricultural sector," he said.

"We have, inevitably, a macroeconomist from the Treasury advising on overall macroeconomic issues as a part of the process of re-establishing a viable Iraqi economy."

Howard said a petroleum sector expert from the Department of Industry, Trade and Resources would join the body this weekend to help redevelop the Iraqi petroleum industry.

"We are considering different ways of making a post-conflict contribution to Iraq with a very clear eye to Iraq's long-term future but also to our own national interests in terms of peace and security and commercial interests," he said.

SPACE.WIRE