http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/awbs-veto-power-to-be-given-to-government/2006/12/05/1165080927908.html
AWB's veto power to be given to Government
December 5, 2006 - 2:53PM
"Disgraced wheat exporter AWB will be stripped of its veto over wheat exports with the power to be temporarily transferred to Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran.
Legislation enacting the change will be rushed through Parliament this week before the summer break in the wake of the Cole inquiry into the AWB Iraq wheat kickbacks scandal.
Mr McGauran will hold the veto for the next six months to allow this season's wheat pool to be sold.
The Government will spend the next three months negotiating with the industry about permanent changes, Prime Minister John Howard said.
"We see this as resolving the differences that exist in relation to the current crop and the pool," Mr Howard said.
"It does not prejudice the ultimate decision that is taken concerning the longer term marketing arrangements."
AWB International (AWBI) has the power to veto any applications by rivals to export Australian wheat.
But it has been blacklisted by the Iraqi Grain Board following the scandal.
A dozen business executives - 11 from AWB - could face criminal charges following the Cole inquiry into $290 million in bribes paid by the wheat exporter to Saddam Hussein's regime.
Last month, AWBI vetoed a series of applications by West Australian grain giant CBH, which would have paid growers up to $20 a tonne more than the AWB price.
The AWB issue has split the Government, with Liberal MPs wanting an end to the single desk for marketing wheat but Nationals MPs insisting that it should stay.
The interim measure was approved at a joint parties meeting this morning.
Mr Howard said there had been "a bit of give and take" in coming up with today's decision.
But he said it was obvious that leaving the veto power with AWBI for this year's crop was untenable.
"AWBI was not only ... a player, but was also the holder of the veto," Mr Howard said.
Mr McGauran would consult relevant senior ministers about exercising the veto, Mr Howard said.
Nationals leader Mark Vaile said it was a sensitive issue because of the complex structure of the management and marketing arrangements of the wheat crop.
"We're all driven by what is in the best interests of growers and that should be the sheet anchor here," Mr Vaile told reporters.
"The most important people in this debate are the wheat growers and what they believe is going to best serve their interests."
Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce said the interim measure was better than losing the single desk.
"The National Party had to step up to the mark and get to a position where we maintained the single desk and we maintained it in such a way to give time to the growers to mobilise," Senator Joyce told ABC Radio.
"That is the most emphatic message out of this - you have a period of time where the growers must mobilise and in the next six months they must come forward and absolutely bang their pots and get on their tractors and tell the whole world, especially those living in Canberra, that they do not want to lose the single desk."
The measure mirrors a proposal put up by the Australian Democrats last month to give the veto power to Treasurer Peter Costello.
"If there's any coincidence, well, there's nothing wrong with that," Mr Howard said.
The Democrats' proposal was voted down by the Government in the Senate."
AAP
AWB's veto power to be given to Government
December 5, 2006 - 2:53PM
"Disgraced wheat exporter AWB will be stripped of its veto over wheat exports with the power to be temporarily transferred to Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran.
Legislation enacting the change will be rushed through Parliament this week before the summer break in the wake of the Cole inquiry into the AWB Iraq wheat kickbacks scandal.
Mr McGauran will hold the veto for the next six months to allow this season's wheat pool to be sold.
The Government will spend the next three months negotiating with the industry about permanent changes, Prime Minister John Howard said.
"We see this as resolving the differences that exist in relation to the current crop and the pool," Mr Howard said.
"It does not prejudice the ultimate decision that is taken concerning the longer term marketing arrangements."
AWB International (AWBI) has the power to veto any applications by rivals to export Australian wheat.
But it has been blacklisted by the Iraqi Grain Board following the scandal.
A dozen business executives - 11 from AWB - could face criminal charges following the Cole inquiry into $290 million in bribes paid by the wheat exporter to Saddam Hussein's regime.
Last month, AWBI vetoed a series of applications by West Australian grain giant CBH, which would have paid growers up to $20 a tonne more than the AWB price.
The AWB issue has split the Government, with Liberal MPs wanting an end to the single desk for marketing wheat but Nationals MPs insisting that it should stay.
The interim measure was approved at a joint parties meeting this morning.
Mr Howard said there had been "a bit of give and take" in coming up with today's decision.
But he said it was obvious that leaving the veto power with AWBI for this year's crop was untenable.
"AWBI was not only ... a player, but was also the holder of the veto," Mr Howard said.
Mr McGauran would consult relevant senior ministers about exercising the veto, Mr Howard said.
Nationals leader Mark Vaile said it was a sensitive issue because of the complex structure of the management and marketing arrangements of the wheat crop.
"We're all driven by what is in the best interests of growers and that should be the sheet anchor here," Mr Vaile told reporters.
"The most important people in this debate are the wheat growers and what they believe is going to best serve their interests."
Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce said the interim measure was better than losing the single desk.
"The National Party had to step up to the mark and get to a position where we maintained the single desk and we maintained it in such a way to give time to the growers to mobilise," Senator Joyce told ABC Radio.
"That is the most emphatic message out of this - you have a period of time where the growers must mobilise and in the next six months they must come forward and absolutely bang their pots and get on their tractors and tell the whole world, especially those living in Canberra, that they do not want to lose the single desk."
The measure mirrors a proposal put up by the Australian Democrats last month to give the veto power to Treasurer Peter Costello.
"If there's any coincidence, well, there's nothing wrong with that," Mr Howard said.
The Democrats' proposal was voted down by the Government in the Senate."
AAP
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