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Coalition Cover Up On AWB: Labor

by Open-Publishing - Sunday 9 July 2006

Wars and conflicts International Governments Australia

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Coalition Cover Up On AWB: Labor
Advertiser Newspapers Pty Limited
08 July 2006

NEWLY released documents showed the Australian Government had colluded with AWB and deliberately lied to the US Senate to hide the grain trader’s kickbacks to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, the ALP said today.

Labor’s public accountability spokesman Kelvin Thomson said documents obtained by his office through Freedom of Information showed the Howard Government had assisted AWB in dodging questions from the US Senate about $300 million in kickbacks paid by AWB to the government of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The US Senate was investigating corruption in the United Nation’s oil-for-food program and the AWB was the biggest single supplier of humanitarian goods to Iraq through this program.

Mr Thomson said the documents showed the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) had co-drafted a crucial letter to US Senator Norm Coleman, chairman of the sub-committee investigating the UN program, and briefed AWB before and after its meeting with Australian Ambassador Michael Thawley and Senator Coleman.

Documents, including emails between DFAT and Australian embassy officials, also revealed that DFAT had intended to keep the list of topics for discussion between itself and Senator Coleman’s committee “very general”.

“These documents show the involvement of DFAT and the involvement of the Howard Government in the cover up,” Mr Thomson said in Melbourne today.

“There is no doubt that the Howard Government lied to the US Senate.

“We looked the US straight in the eye and denied kickbacks were being paid.

“I think (Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade) Alexander Downer should resign.

“The AWB scandal shows that he and his department turned a blind eye to the kickbacks with colossal damage to Australia’s international trading reputation.”

Mr Thomson said the ALP believed the terms of reference for Australia’s Cole inquiry into alleged bribes to Iraq were too narrow and would not be able to ask the necessary question to reveal the Australian Government’s full involvement in the cover-up.

“The bribing of foreign officials is an offence under Australian law, so you can’t say it’s OK to bribe foreign officials...in the interests of Australia’s wheat trade,” Mr Thomson said.

“Furthermore we were signed up to UN sanctions and these bribes were in express breach of the UN sanctions.”

“There’s no doubt that in the US senate there is a very great grievance that we lied to them,” he said.