The AWB Cole inquiry
As I have mentioned in several preceding posts, it is clear that not only did the Australian Wheat Board pay bribes to Saddam Hussein's regime, but that senior figures in the Australian Government knew about this, or at the very least, turned a blind eye, so that they could argue that they didn't 'actually know'.
As the editor of The Age in Melbourne succinctly summarises it (Sat Oct 30):
'The inquiry has also revealed much about the way the Howard Government operates. Despite restrictive terms of reference shielding the Government, Cole has uncovered gross negligence and mismanagement of Australia's national interests at the highest levels. It is staggering that the Government did not act on the warnings it received about Saddam Hussein's corruption of the oil-for-food program and AWB's starring role in it. Instead of properly investigating the matter, it chose to do all it could to launch an extraordinary defence of AWB. '
The official findings of the Cole report will not be released until the end of November, and as the above paragraph alludes, its terms of reference exclude it from investigating whether there was implicit Government involvement (or even a potential cover-up).
However, there can be no doubt in the minds of many Australians that their Government is dishonest, and that at the very least, the Foreign Minister Alexander Downer should resign.
-A
As the editor of The Age in Melbourne succinctly summarises it (Sat Oct 30):
'The inquiry has also revealed much about the way the Howard Government operates. Despite restrictive terms of reference shielding the Government, Cole has uncovered gross negligence and mismanagement of Australia's national interests at the highest levels. It is staggering that the Government did not act on the warnings it received about Saddam Hussein's corruption of the oil-for-food program and AWB's starring role in it. Instead of properly investigating the matter, it chose to do all it could to launch an extraordinary defence of AWB. '
The official findings of the Cole report will not be released until the end of November, and as the above paragraph alludes, its terms of reference exclude it from investigating whether there was implicit Government involvement (or even a potential cover-up).
However, there can be no doubt in the minds of many Australians that their Government is dishonest, and that at the very least, the Foreign Minister Alexander Downer should resign.
-A
Labels: Australian politics
posted by Crema-editor at 4:18 PM
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