House debates Questions without Notice
Oil for Food Program
Kim Beazley Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
2:14 pm
Again, the question is to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade. For a third time, when did the Deputy Prime Minister become aware of the contents of the 10 April 2001 Bronte Moules cable?
Mark Vaile Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade
I have answered this. He is asking me when I read a cable in 2001. I said to him I will check when I saw the cable, but the substance of the cable was about port fees. It was addressed by the UN sanctions committee. The trade went on and the cargo was unloaded without there being—
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Opposition Members:
Opposition members interjecting—
Mark Vaile Lyne, National Party, Minister for Trade
That is what we have been told. If it is a major debating point—when you read it or when you did not read it—the resultant action justifies the position the government has continued to take in this whole matter.