Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security) Share this | Hansard source

I am—when he said that the UN alone was responsible for approving wheat sales to Iraq. I refer the minister to the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations 1991, which state:

The minister is responsible for granting permission for trade with Iraq where the minister is satisfied that permitting the exportation would not infringe the international obligations of Australia.

My question to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade is: is it not a fact that the approval power under the Customs regulations 1991 lies with an Australian government minister to issue the export permit and not with the United Nations?

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