‘Howard rejects call to widen inquiry’

SMH
March 30, 2006 

‘The Prime Minister has refused
to widen the Cole commission of inquiry into the AWB oil-for-food scandal to
allow it to investigate breaches of civil and international law by its
ministers and officials. 

John Howard said the
commissioner, Terence Cole, already had the powers to do this because the
inquiry's terms of reference already covered what the Government and its
officials knew about alleged kickbacks. 

In a letter to Labor's foreign
affairs spokesman, Kevin Rudd, the solicitor assisting the commission, Glenn
Owbridge, said that it would "not be appropriate" to ask for an
extension of the terms of reference to cover breaches of civil or international
law because they were matters "significantly different to that in the
existing terms of reference". 

Mr Rudd accused Mr Howard of
"rorting" the terms of reference to ensure Mr Cole could not fully
investigate the conduct of ministers, advisers and officials. It is now known
that AWB breached United Nations sanctions by paying kickbacks to Saddam Hussein
through the Jordanian trucking firm Alia.’ 

Another stunning “values”
lesson from our Prime Minister. 

If the Cole Commission of
Inquiry achieves nothing else, it will be to demonstrate the truth of the
maxim: “A fish always rots from the head”.

From the ABC

AWB inquiry chief defends secrecy order on intelligence papers
AWB inquiry Commissioner Terence Cole says a secrecy order on intelligence documents has not made his inquiry unfair.

The commissioner has also rejected claims that the inquiry has treated government witnesses very gently.

Commissioner Cole says all witnesses have been thoroughly and competently examined.

He has rejected the claim that lawyers for AWB staff could not properly question Department of Foreign Affairs officials because they cannot read secret intelligence documents.

A summary of 17 pieces of unassessed intelligence reveals many sections of the Australian Government received tip-offs about corruption of the oil-for-food program.

Commissioner Cole says the summary indicates the substance and use of the intelligence.

He has upheld the secrecy order on the full documents in the interests of
national security.

________________

Gus says national security, my foot... A summary of intelligence is not good enough... We know by experience that things like that can be manipulated to achieve an outcome (the WMDs of Saddam for example) ....
Unless Mr Clowner appears at the Cole inquiry, and TELLS THE TRUTH, the reality remains that the government did not do its job by neglect, that the government did lie or that the government was incompetent.

Absolutely Gus ..... just more "fluff" for the papers from all sides.

If lawyers for staff from the AWB were serious, they'd hit "freckles fishnets" & the rest of the guvernment's feckless fools with summonses. 

But I suspect the fix is already in, with agreement already reached as to who'll "take a fall" & how they'll be looked after later. 

Cole will get no further. 

From the SMH

AWB has admitted for the first time that it knew it was providing hard currency to Saddam Hussein's regime via so-called "transport fees", the Federal Court heard this morning.

In his opening address on behalf of a shareholder class action against AWB, John Sheahan, SC, said he read the admission "with some surprise" when he received AWB's outline of submissions on Monday.

It contradicted AWB's "traditional position" in its public statements that it had been duped when it made the payments, Mr Sheahan said.

It was also in contrast to the company's denial of any liability to the aggrieved shareholders in the formal defence to the class action it filed with the court in November, he said.

AWB continues to deny the two central allegations made by the shareholders: that it breached its obligations of continuous disclosure to the stockmarket; and that it engaged in misleading conduct in contravention of the Trade Practices Act.

The shareholders claim that AWB caused them loss by concealing that it was sending money to the Iraqi government in breach of the United Nations Oil-for-Food program and Australian export rules.

The payments were investigated by a UN inquiry headed by Paul Volcker in 2005 and an Australian inquiry headed by Terence Cole, QC, in 2006.

AWB's outline of submissions says it admits it paid fees to a Jordanian trucking company, called Alia, and "that it knew the fees were to be remitted by Alia to the Iraqi State Company for Water Transport".

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The truth is coming out like a blackhead is squeezed out by two thumbs... And remember our Pete Costello back then decreed that the bribes were only kickbacks and tax deductible at that... Cheers. See toon at top and everywhere and stories about AWB infesting this site...