John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

At that time it was common between the government and the opposition that the AWB was an organisation of total integrity and repute. On 6 June 2003, three months after I made my statement to the parliament, there was a response to the allegations made by the American Wheat Associates—allegations, incidentally, as to their detail before the commission. Mr Cole has indicated that he will be very carefully examining the role of the AWB and also the Commonwealth in relation to that issue. This is what the then shadow minister for primary industries, Senator Kerry O’Brien, and the then trade spokesman, Craig Emerson, had to say, such was their belief in the integrity of AWB Ltd—

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