Fed: PM denies he was committed to ending AWB monopoly

AAP General News (Australia)
02-11-2006
Fed: PM denies he was committed to ending AWB monopoly

By Kylie Williams

CANBERRA, Feb 11 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard has denied ever committing to ending
AWB's wheat export monopoly.

The federal government has also rejected claims from a former intelligence officer
that it was impossible the government did not know that $300 million in kickbacks was
paid by AWB to the Iraqi government under the UN's oil for food program.

The Cole commission of inquiry is investigating AWB over alleged kickbacks to Saddam
Hussein's regime under the guise of transport fees to Jordanian company Alia.

A newspaper reported today that Mr Howard flagged his intention to end AWB's monopoly
at yesterday's meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

But in a statement today, Mr Howard said the report was not true and he had not raised
the issue at COAG.

"Contrary to the Herald report, the issue was not raised during my talks yesterday
with the premiers and chief ministers," he said in the statement.

Mr Howard said there had been some recent public debate about the single desk policy,
but the federal government had not made any decision.

The paper said government sources told them Mr Howard linked the move away from the
single desk policy to the government's contribution to a national program to strip back
regulation.

Mr Howard said the government was required to review the single desk policy under national
competition policy, but that this did not mean it had decided on any change.

"Under current principles of national competition policy the government is obliged,
periodically, to review the legislation which established the single desk," he said in
the statement.

"That will continue to be the case in the future.

"That obligation to review the legislation does not, of itself, imply any future change
in policy."

The federal government has repeatedly denied knowing anything about AWB kickbacks or
the Tigris deal under which BHP attempted to recoup the cost of a $5 million humanitarian
wheat shipment.

But former Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) officer Warren Reed, who worked
for 10 years with ASIS in Asia and the Middle East, said the government must have known
of the deals.

"It's absolutely impossible that they didn't know," Mr Reed told ABC Radio today.

"In fact, if you look at the core part of the governmental system in Canberra - Foreign
Affairs, Defence, even eavesdropping - the whole intelligence apparatus, that's geared
to knowing these things.

"And if they didn't know, they weren't charged specifically by ministers in the government
with knowing, people like (then trade minister) Mark Vaile, the prime minister (John Howard)
and (foreign minister) Alexander Downer, then they should be shot at dawn."

But a spokesman for Mr Downer said Mr Reid did not know what he was talking about.

"The man has not worked for the government for about 20 years and could not and would
not know anything about this subject," the spokesman told AAP.

"What he says is absolute nonsense."

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd called on Mr Howard to tell Australia
what intelligence he had on the kickbacks.

"In the lead up to the Iraq war and just afterwards, Australia had a keen interest
in everything happening in Iraq," he said.

"The intelligence community was on high alert about how Saddam Hussein was getting
his money and what happened to that money.

"What John Howard must answer today is what intelligence reports did he receive concerning
the kickbacks involved in the oil-for-food program."

AAP klw/evt/sd

KEYWORD: AWB NIGHTLEAD

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