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

Yes, so why don’t we table the member for Griffith’s notes or recollections of his meetings with the Australian Wheat Board? We understand that the member for Griffith was fully informed as to all aspects of the Australian Wheat Board’s interests in Iraq. I am not alleging any improper knowledge or wrongdoing—of course not—on the part of the member for Griffith, but he was simply given the same lines, as I understand it, from the Australian Wheat Board as were government ministers.

The member for Griffith, in an attempt to generate interest or even a headline, alleges that the government have participated in a cover-up to the point where we even instructed our Washington representatives to obfuscate and deceive and mislead American senators. The simple fact is that the government have never sought anything other than procedural fairness for AWB in the congressional systems. Above all else, we cooperated fully with Volcker. Every aspect of the Volcker inquiry’s questions and requests for information was complied with. We provided records. Public servants were made available. We cooperated fully with Volcker and, as Volcker uncovered concerns about the Australian Wheat Board, the government told the Australian Wheat Board to cooperate with Volcker. Whether they did or not, as with all other aspects of their behaviour, will be a matter for Commissioner Cole.

The simple fact is that there was no protection of AWB from rightful, legitimate and lawful inquiries, whether in America or by Volcker from the United Nations. When Volcker reported disturbing findings, we established the Cole commission of inquiry. There has been no evidence of wrongdoing by the government presented by the member for Griffith. You can see from everything that is available through the Cole commission exactly what the government knew and what the Australian Wheat Board was telling the government. What we do not know from the Cole commission is what the member for Griffith knew and what the Australian Wheat Board was telling the member for Griffith. In fact, all the questions the opposition asked on this issue are based on documents made available through the Cole inquiry. So, instead of being hysterical, the member for Griffith should either find some evidence to back up his outrageous claims or wait for the Cole commission to hand down its report, like every other fair-minded person is doing.

If Labor had their way, Saddam Hussein would still be in power. The mass murders would still be continuing. Saddam Hussein would still be killing Iraqis, would still be working on his weapons of mass destruction programs and would still be rorting the oil for food program, with children needlessly dying as a result. We have only uncovered these scandals and wrongdoings by ousting Saddam Hussein, and we are proud of the role we played in ousting him. Apart from stopping his barbarism, preventing him from invading his neighbours, putting an end to his support for terrorism and ending his weapons of mass destruction programs, it has allowed us to uncover the rorting of the United Nations sanctions system. And we are determined to discover exactly what went on. The Cole commission—the inquiry we set up—will duly hand down its findings.

Moreover, the member for Griffith would have it that the government has failed Australian wheat growers because there is American wheat being sold to Iraq. His ignorance on this matter is pretty staggering. For a start, we know that between the Gulf Wars of 1991 and 2003 the United States had little or no trade in wheat, so the 300 per cent increase that the member for Griffith seized upon is coming from a zero base. It is now a competitive market. The Australian market share in Iraq was obviously unusually high because the United States was not a competitor during those years. Mind you, the United States had been a major exporter to Iraq before the sanctions. The government is keen for trade with Iraq for continue. The Deputy Prime Minister and the government as a whole have worked to facilitate the wheat trade while the Australian Wheat Board is excluded by the Iraqi Grains Board pending the outcome of the Cole inquiry.

The government’s efforts have successfully opened the way for Australian wheat to be exported to Iraq. While sales to Iraq may be down, sales to other markets are increasing. Expected returns to growers in the 2005-06 national pool have recently been upgraded by the Australian Wheat Board. The Australian government has strongly supported our growers in accessing, to the greatest extent possible, the Iraqi wheat market. The Iraqi Grains Board is currently conducting another tender, and I am hopeful of a successful commercial outcome for Australian wheat growers. I am assured that the Australian Wheat Board will be making wheat available from the national pool on commercial terms for the current tender.

Wheat Australia, the consortium of bulk handlers who have stepped into the breach in the absence of the Australian Wheat Board in the Iraq market, is continuing to fulfil its commitments against its 350,000-tonne deal with the Iraqi Grains Board. I wish to congratulate Wheat Australia for the hard work put into making these exports happen. It is a great outcome for Australian wheat growers and ensures a continued presence for Australian wheat in this longstanding market. But that is a great disappointment to the member for Griffith because, to be frank, he does not want Australian wheat growers to succeed in the Iraq market. So he goes around trashing the Australian reputation in the hope that there is a backlash that may reflect upon the government. Forget the interests of Australian wheat growers—the member for Griffith is only interested in his political interests. He is guilty of exaggeration and hype in his accusations against the government and in his lack of confidence in and his undermining of the Cole commission, and he is against the interests of Australian wheat growers. The member for Griffith knows only too well that he is guilty of a great deal of exaggeration over a long period of time, and the day of reckoning is coming. The Cole commission will do its job and will report its findings, as the government would have it do.

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