March 2, 2006

Australia will keep wheat export system for now
 

Australia will not be changing a monopoly wheat export system operated by Australia Wheat Board (AWB) for the near future, Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile said Thursday.

"We don't envisage in the short term any changes in this policy," Vaile told parliament in answer to a question as to whether the government will consult wheat growers before making any policy changes.

"Of course we would consult with the wheat growing community of Australia if there were any proposed changes to the mechanisms that are in place," he added.

Debate about the future of the monopoly has arisen in recent months following a report in October that AWB paid US$221.7 million in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime during the operation of the United Nations oil-for-food program.

An inquiry headed by former state judge Terence Cole is now under way to investigate whether AWB breached Australian law in paying the kickbacks. Prime Minister John Howard said Wednesday the outcome of the Cole inquiry will affect future AWB's operations, though not in any way on the future of the monopoly itself.

Moreover, if the government were to consider a change, it would be "lunacy" for Australia's national interest, he said.

"It would only be something we would ever contemplate giving away in the context of international trade negotiations," he said, a view reiterated Thursday.