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 again is to the Minister for Trade. Will the minister outline the instructions he gave to our embassy in Washington in October 2003 in response to concerns raised by US senators that AWB was making corrupt payments to Saddam Hussein’s regime? Did the minister instruct our embassy to write to the US senators that Australia ‘rejects such allegations completely’ and ‘the allegation that AWB Ltd made illicit payments to Saddam Hussein’s regime is reprehensible’? Why did the minister continue to mislead our major ally in the war against terrorism and why, instead, was the government so compliant to written requests like this one from the AWB for ‘a strong political argument and relentless pressure’ to be put on the United States—

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

Order! The member will come 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

until the US yielded to this pressure to back off?

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

We did not issue any instructions, as alleged by the member for Griffith, other than to ensure that an Australian company was treated fairly if there was to be an inquiry held in the Senate in the United States.