New AWB bribes inquiry...

[TOM4CWB]

Rudd to push for new AWB bribes inquiry
Josh Gordon
May 25, 2008


LABOR is set to relaunch investigations into the AWB wheat-for-weapons scandal.

The Government is believed to be concerned that the Cole Commission failed to properly examine whether the previous government was aware the company siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars of kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime.

The Sun-Herald understands that Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is pushing ahead with plans to reopen the inquiry, although a public statement is unlikely until the courts have dealt with former AWB chairman Trevor Flugge and five other executives embroiled in the affair.

The Cole Commission concluded in late 2006 that AWB was knowingly paying kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime between 1999 and 2004, funnelling an estimated $US224million disguised as trucking fees to avoid UN sanctions.

But it found no evidence that any government officer - from senior ministers down to departmental officials - had any knowledge that the payments were being made in exchange for lucrative wheat deals.

Mr Rudd indicated in December that he would be instructing his department to provide advice on "how these things could be taken further".

"I still for the life of me cannot understand ... whereby Australia became the largest source of illicit foreign funding to Saddam Hussein's regime, that no minister - no minister - was held accountable or responsible for that gross failure of public administration," he said at the time.

Mr Rudd's spokesman, George Wright, yesterday said: "We will consider the [departmental] advice when we receive it."

Source: The Sun-Herald

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/rudd-to-push-for-new-awb-bribes-inquiry/2008/05/25/1211183200580.html

Could we yet learn the CDN CWB connections?

[TOM4CWB]

Nationals may oppose wheat bill: Truss
June 1, 2008 - 1:07PM

The Nationals have signalled they will not join the Liberal Party in supporting changes to the single desk system for marketing wheat.

Nationals leader Warren Truss said the party's views on organised marketing in the wheat industry were well known.

"We are likely to oppose Labor's changes to the arrangements," Mr Truss told the Ten Network.

"We believe the single desk has served the industry well, it delivers the best returns to the growers and also the best results in maximising the returns to our country from our wheat sales.

"We've been a supporter of that concept in the past, we believe it serves the industry well and that continues to be our position."

The changes have been prompted by the fallout from the Iraq wheat scandal, after it was revealed that wheat exporter AWB paid almost $300 million in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime.

The Cole inquiry exonerated Howard government ministers of any knowledge of the kickbacks.

Mr Truss said he had nothing to fear if the Rudd government re-opened the Cole inquiry.

"But I wonder why we would want to go through it all again," he said.

"All the ministers involved were thoroughly questioned, not just by the commission but by the public at the time.

"Kevin Rudd asked hundreds and hundreds of questions in the parliament. There's really nothing more likely to come through."

The government would be better off concentrating on lowering petrol and grocery prices as promised, Mr Truss said.

When asked whether he thought it was strange that Iraq was suddenly trading Australian wheat again in 2003, Mr Truss said it had been normal practice for a long time.

"For many decades we'd been the major supplier to Iraq during most of that period.

"The Americans chose to withdraw from the market. Other countries also were not selling wheat to Iraq," he said.

"They were more anxious than ever to obtain wheat from somewhere."

The Iraqi government had long-standing arrangements with Australia, he said.

"Many of their flour mills were specifically built to take Australian wheat.

"They liked the quality of Australian wheat and the colour of the bread produced from Australian wheat, and so it was a natural thing to happen."

© 2008 AAP

[wilagro]

Tom4CWB: What has this to do with Canadian wheat or its marketing? Are you suggesting that our CWB had similar problems and used similar techniques in dealing with Saddam and others?

Come, come Tom, you are really stretching things in your apparent efforts to disparage, demean and otherwise blame the CWB for anything untoward. Trying to make us suspicious of our own people by telling of others who may have transgressed, is not kosher.