House debates Questions without Notice
Oil for Food Program
Kevin Rudd Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security
2:44 pm
My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. Deputy Prime Minister, given that this US Department of Defense report, which names AWB, requested immediate action from the Coalition Provisional Authority, of which Australia was a principal member, what action did the government take in response to this report? Is it not a fact that by turning a blind eye to this report AWB’s corrupt contracts with Iraq continued to run for another 12 months after this September 2003 warning?
Mark Vaile Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade
The government did not turn a blind eye to anything.