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 and Minister for Trade. I refer to the statement by Mr Warren Truss, a cabinet minister, a former Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Deputy Leader of the National Party, that there was ‘hardly anything odd’ about AWB’s kickbacks to the Saddam Hussein regime, that it was ‘quite normal to pay commissions for services, especially in the Middle East’ and that ‘When we sell our house we pay commissions to a real estate agent. We may think he charges us far too much but we do not say that it is corruption or a bribery payment. It is a fee for a service.’ Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree with his deputy’s remarks?

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

In calling the Deputy Prime Minister, I would remind the Leader of the Opposition that, while the question can stand, a minister should not be asked to comment on another minister’s comments. But, given the relevance of the topic, I call the Deputy Prime Minister.

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, because it gives us an opportunity to clarify a point here. I will just complete the quotes with the parts that the Leader of the Opposition failed to read out to the House. The Minister for Transport and Regional Services said in his speech: ‘I am not in any way seeking to condone activities that are not appropriate. We do have high business standards and ethics in Australia, and even if they are not shared in other parts of the world that does not mean that we should compromise our standards or in any way compromise things that are inappropriate.’ That is also what the minister said.