Gavan O'Connor (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and it follows the statement of the Prime Minister that the Liberal and National parties are the best friends the wheat growers of Australia have ever had. I refer to the Cole inquiry report which finds, as a result of this $300 million wheat for weapons scandal: AWB wheat grower shareholders have lost half the value of their investment; trade with Iraq worth more than $500 million per annum has been forfeited; AWB is threatened by lawsuits both in Australia and overseas, with potential liabilities running to hundreds of millions of dollars; there are potential further restrictions on AWB’s trade overseas; and AWB has cast a shadow over Australia’s reputation in international trade. As the minister responsible for approving all 41 AWB corrupt contracts with Saddam Hussein’s regime, do you accept any responsibility for the cost to Australia’s hardworking wheat farmers?

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