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
3:09 pm
My question is again for the Minister for Trade. I refer to a further statement by the minister at the National Party Central Council in March this year, when he said about AWB’s payments to Iraq: ‘If you are paying commissions to an agent to sell wheat in another part of the world, there is hardly anything odd about that. When we sell our house, we pay commissions to a real estate agent. We may think he charges us far too much, but we don’t say that is corruption or a bribery payment. It’s just a fee for service.’ Does the minister stand by this statement?
Warren Truss Wide Bay, National Party, Minister for Trade
I responded to that question in anticipation in my last answer. The reality is that it is not uncommon in business in Australia and around the world to pay commissions. We pay commissions to people, as I mentioned, when we buy or sell a house and when we buy or sell insurance. Farmers pay commission frequently when they sell their grain to an agent, whose job is to connect the supplier with the market. In those circumstances, that is a reasonable fee for service.
Kevin Rudd Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security
David Hawker Speaker
The minister will resume his seat. Has the minister concluded his answer? The minister has concluded his answer.
Kevin Rudd Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I sought the call for about the last 10 seconds or so while you allowed the minister to continue.
David Hawker Speaker
I asked the minister to resume his seat, which he has.
Kevin Rudd Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security
On relevance, the question asked whether the minister stood by the statement, and he failed to answer that, as he did with the previous two questions.