|
February 15, 2006
I've been watching Mark Vaile, the Minister for Trade, in Question Time, these last couple of days, as he was being questioned about his knowledge of the bribery conducted by AWB associated with slipping money to Saddam Hussein. Vaile has become Labor's prime target as the sleaze affair starts to begin to turn into a scandal.
Matt Golding
It's increasingly becoming more and more of a 'bluster and bluff' defence as Vaile stone walls with his I knew and heard nothing line to evade all ministerial acountability. It's the UN that is at fault, you see. It was their oil-for-food program, they failed to excise oversight. It has nothing to do with the Australian government. Unbelivable. Utterly implausible.
Vaile looks inept and complicit as he revises his blind eye story to cover his deceit and evasion of ministerial responsibility. Even with the Speaker protecting his irrelevant answers, it's an embarrasing performance, as he thrashes around in desperation in a tough- it-out- mode about how he knew nothing about all the warnings coming into Canberra from everywhere over a two year period.
What kind of agri-politics is it when Saddam Hussein's regime received more money in per tonne in kickbacks than the AWB recieved for its wheat? Why defend that?
What we are seeing is a failure of Parliamentary accountibility, given the gagging of the bureaucrats before the Senate estimates committee about matters before the Cole commission on the AWB kickbacks scandal.
The ALP attack has achieved political damage.The Howard Government is looking arrogant and corrupt, whilst the days when the AWB acts as a single desk export monopoly is finished.
|
What kind of agri-politics is it when Saddam Hussein's regime received more money in per tonne in kickbacks than the AWB recieved for its wheat???
In order to get at least some credibility how about doing a bit of homework.
AWB received $222/tonne for one of their sales. $46 of this was paid to whoever for ‘land transport’ in Iraq. Costs ex seaboard came out of this $46.
So I put to you that the AWB received $176 per tonne delivered wharf Iraq, much less than any kickbacks Saddam Hussein's regime may have/probably did receive.
If you are capable what about contributing something useful to political debate in this country. With politics on all side at such a low ebb, we certainly need it.