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

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade. I refer to DFAT’s statement issued yesterday, which reportedly does not deny the department’s involvement in the Tigris matter.

Alexander Downer (Mayo, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Oh!

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

You find this a huge joke, don’t you, Alex?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You’re the joke.

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

Oh, Prime Minister! That’s a $300 million joke, Prime Minister. I refer to DFAT’s—

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

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

Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister and the foreign minister are interrupting.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Griffith will get to his question.

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

I refer to DFAT’s statement issued yesterday which reportedly does not deny the department’s involvement in the Tigris matter. I quote from correspondence from AWB executive Charles Stott which says, ‘Our friends at DFAT are interested in the outcome of the discussions to recover the obligation.’ Minister, did your office or your department at any stage help the AWB, BHP or Tigris in Tigris’s efforts to recover money from Iraq?

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Obviously the member for Griffith has not seen the statement from DFAT yesterday, so I will read it to him. The statement from DFAT yesterday said very clearly:

DFAT did not approve the Tigris donation/debt repayment deal. DFAT’s advice has been clear and consistent with the UN sanctions regime.

That is in the statement from DFAT.

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. The question went much further than that. It wanted to get at the character of the discussions that they have had on this Tigris matter with DFAT. What were they?

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition is well aware that the chair is not obliged to dictate the answers to questions. The chair follows one standing order on the answers to questions.

Alex Somlyay (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. Has the Prime Minister’s attention been drawn to recent reactions to evidence given at the Cole inquiry? What is the government’s reaction?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I say to the member for Fairfax that there has been a lot of reaction to evidence given before the Cole inquiry, but one reaction that came from a Western Australian politician whose Christian name is Kim did catch my eye. It did not come from the better-known Western Australian politician with the Christian name Kim; it came from none other than the Western Australian Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Kim Chance, in the Western Australian Labor government—bearing in mind that he is agriculture minister in the largest wheat-exporting state of Australia. I think what he had to say is a piece of very good advice to everybody on both sides of the House. I will read what he had to say:

If there has been corruption in the West Australian or in the Australian wheat industry and its marketing then I would be very disturbed—

nobody can argue with that proposition—

but let’s wait until we hear from the Cole inquiry about what the situation really is rather than commenting on bits and pieces of evidence as they fall out of the inquiry.

The reality is that the level of investigation and the measure of transparency displayed by the Australian government is greater than that of any government in the world. This government has subjected itself to an inquiry that no other government, according to my advice, has been willing to do. We have had these indignant comments from the Leader of the Opposition and from the member for Griffith that Cole cannot investigate these matters. That is wrong. It is wrong with a capital W.

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

Mr Rudd interjecting

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If the member for Griffith takes pause for a moment and listens, I will read something that Mr Cole had to say in his statement last Friday. I invite everybody in this House to read this statement. This is what he had to say at paragraph 8:

This means that this Inquiry will address and make findings regarding, at least, the following:

a.

the role of DFAT in the process of obtaining United Nations’ approval of AWB wheat contracts within the United Nations Oil-for-food Programme ...

In other words, Cole is looking at the behaviour of DFAT. Is any other government around the world doing that? No. Cole is looking at the role of DFAT. But let me go on.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I see the fingers pointing. I knew they would, and they did.

Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Tanner interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Melbourne is warned!

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Cole then goes on to say:

b.

the knowledge of DFAT in relation to such contracts;

c.

what AWB told the Commonwealth—

He uses the generic expression ‘the Commonwealth’. He does not confine it to DFAT. He does not confine it to officials. He uses the generic expression ‘the Commonwealth’. He goes on to say:

d.

whether the Commonwealth, and in particular DFAT—

in other words, he is talking generally about every arm of the Commonwealth, including, of course, ministers—

was informed of any knowledge AWB may be found to have had, regarding comments made by AWB to Alia.

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

Why don’t you appear?

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Corio is warned!

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He then goes on to say in paragraph 14—and I commend a reading of this to everybody in the House and others who are interested in these proceedings:

Accordingly, if, during the course of my inquiry, it appears to me that there might have been a breach of any Commonwealth, State or Territory law by the Commonwealth or any officer of the Commonwealth related to the subject matter of the terms of reference, I will approach the Attorney-General seeking a widening of the terms of reference to permit me to make such a finding.

He then goes on to say this:

That position has not been reached.

In other words, this man is looking at everything and, unlike the opposition, unlike the government, Mr Cole has access at a level nobody else has. He has not only DFAT’s documents. They went to DFAT when this inquiry started and copied all the documents that they wanted. This is the cover-up! We were accused by the Labor Party of covering up. That was their first charge. How are you covering up when you invite them into the bowels of DFAT and you give them all the documents? That is some cover-up! Not only has he done that but he has also got the relevant documents from my department. More importantly than his getting our documents, he has also got AWB’s documents. We do not have AWB’s documents. The only documents of AWB that we have are those of correspondence.

In other words, you have the situation of an outstanding Australian lawyer, a person who had a very high reputation at the Sydney bar before he became a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, who then served on the Court of Appeal in New South Wales, which arguably after the High Court of Australia is the most prestigious court in this country—he has all of those qualifications—who is acting completely independently of the government. He has access to everything and he is examining everything.

In those circumstances, I think the Leader of the Opposition and those behind him ought to take the advice of their mate Kim Chance in Western Australia. He is a man of great stature and respect in the Australian community. He is a person who is highly regarded in the Australian Labor Party. I know they will not take his advice, because they cannot help themselves. But I think out there the Australian people will respond to this proposition. If you have an eminent lawyer who has all the documents, all the independence in the world and all the integrity in the world looking at them, I think the Australian people are more likely to believe him than the member for Griffith.

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Prime Minister, then give him the power to make those findings now. If that is your view, give it now, or end this rubbish that you have given him a full, clean slate. In the meantime, you and your ministers have to answer some questions here.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat!

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I refer to standing order 91, which concerns disorderly conduct. You have ruled on preambles by the Leader of the Opposition before. I ask you to enforce your ruling.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Canning. The Leader of the Opposition will come to his question.

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. He still has to answer questions in this place, no matter how much the Prime Minister might like to shut him down.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Leader of the Opposition will come to his question!

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question to him follows the question he did not answer last time. Minister, did your office or your department at any stage help the AWB, BHP or Tigris in any efforts to recover the Tigris money from Iraq?

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. Again, this is a matter that is being dealt with by the commission—and you know that. It has just been very clearly outlined. Commissioner Cole indicated quite clearly last Friday that he intends pursuing the matter.

I refer the Leader of the Opposition, again, to the statement by DFAT yesterday where they said:

DFAT did not approve the Tigris donation/debt repayment deal. DFAT’s advice has been clear and consistent with the UN Sanctions regime.

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order which goes to relevance. It related to him, his office, as well as his department. It was not a question of approval; it was help.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Prime Minister is answering the question.

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Further to the question and to the statement by DFAT yesterday, I have been advised that, having searched the files, DFAT has no record of any knowledge of the complicated arrangements to inflate wheat contract prices to enable the repayment of the Tigris debt and wheat compensation payments. I am advised that it was aware in 1995 that BHP had funded a shipment of AWB wheat as a humanitarian donation. However, when BHP and AWB proposed that the donation be repaid under a credit agreement, DFAT advised this would violate sanctions. DFAT also emphasised that any changes to the original UN agreement would require sanctions committee approval. This fact has been reported to the Cole inquiry—the point that we continue to make to the Leader of the Opposition. DFAT’s advice was clear and consistent with the UN sanctions regime, and DFAT has no record or any knowledge that the Tigris, BHP, AWB deal actually went ahead.