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 addressed to the Acting Prime Minister. I refer to the trade minister’s rescue mission to Baghdad in February to save the current wheat contract with Iraq, following Iraqi reaction to the $300 million wheat for weapons scandal. I also refer to the trade minister’s statement to this parliament on the success of that visit when he boasted that it was important that an Australian government minister should ‘stand face to face, eyeball to eyeball, and shake hands on an arrangement’. Given Wheat Australia’s statement yesterday that negotiations have now reached an impasse on this $100 million contract that is so important for Australia’s wheat farmers, will the trade minister now be required to travel from Paris to Iraq and take other necessary diplomatic measures to get these critical negotiations back on track?

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Trade did have a very successful trip to Iraq. A consequence of that trip was that the Iraqi Grains Board, which had indicated that it would not deal with AWB Ltd, indicated that it would deal with an alternative supplier, Australian Wheat. The Iraqi Grains Board has been dealing with Australian Wheat, which includes companies such as the Barley Board, CBH and other suppliers.

Whether or not a commercial contract comes off is a question for commercial negotiation. It depends on price, it depends on volume and it depends on terms and conditions. Unfortunately, parties cannot always agree. But the success of the trade minister’s trip was that he ensured that Australian Wheat got back in the door; it got back into those negotiations and those negotiations have taken place. I want to pay tribute to the trade minister for doing that and for his bravery in going to Iraq and to acknowledge the wonderful work that he did.