Peter McGauran (Gippsland, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

There is one issue on which the member for Corio and I would be in strong agreement—that is, this is an issue of deep and abiding concern to grain growers and the industry at large. The evidence being elicited by the Cole inquiry is gravely disturbing in many respects. I would not wish to speculate nor prejudge any aspects of that inquiry, except to say that the evidence to a layman raises very substantial questions on a whole range of fronts.

So we agree on that. Where we disagree is on the allegations by the member for Corio and his party colleagues that this is the government’s scandal, that it is the government that is in the dock. A series of assertions, no matter how often repeated, claiming that the government is responsible for this situation do not prove the case, and certainly not in a technical or legal way. So the member for Corio has failed to substantiate his case, his allegations, his charges, and what we are left with is wild rhetoric and overexaggeration as well as a distortion of the facts.

The government takes the issues of the AWB’s alleged kickbacks and fraud upon the United Nations under the oil for food program with the utmost seriousness. As a result we established the Cole inquiry, which, better than anyone else could possibly have hoped to do, is getting to the bottom of the matter. The commission of inquiry was set up to investigate possible breaches of Australian law by three companies in relation to the United Nations oil for food program. The terms of reference, Justice Cole himself has advised us, are adequate in most respects, apart from one development during the inquiry relating to the so-called Tigris deal. What Justice Cole has sought from the Attorney-General will, I understand, be granted.

In the same way, any information that Justice Cole requires or requests from the Commonwealth is being provided. The Commonwealth is fully cooperating in every aspect with the Cole inquiry, including to the point where the Prime Minister has said that ministers would appear upon request. That is a measure of our support for the inquiry and its efforts to get to the truth of the matter and pursue any wrongdoing. The coalition government strongly, furiously even, supported sanctions against Iraq. If any Australian minister had a notion, let alone any evidence, that there was fraud circumventing the sanctions, he or she would not have hesitated to bring it to the attention of the Prime Minister or the government. We wanted those sanctions to take effect and would not have tolerated for a moment any Australian company circumventing them to the advantage of Saddam Hussein. The government condemns bribery of public officials and acts that were in contravention of the United Nations sanctions rules whenever or wherever they occurred. The bribery of foreign officials is an offence under the Criminal Code. If the findings of the Cole inquiry indicate that Australian laws have been breached, then it would be a matter for the Australian Federal Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The problem for the member for Corio is twofold. Firstly, his new development that has gripped the attention or imagination of some in the media and on the floor of the House is not new; it is old news. The Chairman of the Wheat Export Authority gave evidence on 1 November to the Senate estimates inquiry and touched on these issues, so much so that the member for Corio—to his credit as a diligent shadow minister—issued six subsequent press releases.

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