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

to move:

That this House:

(1)

notes:

(a)

that the Government ignored 27 separate warnings between 1999 and 2004 concerning the abuse of the United Nations oil for food program;

(b)

that the Government ignored:

(i)

at least 8 separate intelligence warnings, including 3 specific intelligence warnings about the Jordanian company Alia;

(ii)

3 specific warnings from the UN about the AWB;

(iii)

2 cabled reports from Baghdad on kickbacks on Oil for Food contracts; and

(iv)

a formal Ministerial Submission advising the Foreign Minister and Trade Minister of Departmental concerns about what the AWB was up to;

(c)

that because of continued Government negligence, the wheat for weapons scandal continued for 18 months after the invasion of Iraq;

(d)

that the Government failed to provide full documentation and full cooperation with the Volcker Inquiry; and

(e)

that this scandal has damaged Australia's national security interests, Australia's export interests, as well as Australia's international standing.

(2)

calls on the Government to widen Commissioner Cole’s terms of reference as a matter of urgency so that Commissioner Cole can make findings on whether Ministers discharged their responsibilities under Australian domestic and international law to enforce UN sanctions against Saddam Hussein’s regime. (Notice given 28 March 2006.)

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