December 21, 2006

 

Australian senator accuses US of betrayal over wheat trade

 

 

An Australian senator on Thursday accused Washington of betraying an ally by suspending Australia's wheat-export monopoly from US government contracts because it cheated on the UN oil-for-food programme in Iraq.

 

"They're doing this to help American wheat exporters break into Australian markets ¨C that's what this is all about," Sen. Barnaby Joyce of the farmer-focused Nationals party told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

 

Joyce said Australia deserved more respect for supporting US and British troops in the Iraq invasion and for keeping soldiers there and in Afghanistan.

 

"Australia is a good ally, they've said so themselves," said Joyce, referring to US President George W. Bush's administration.

 

"They've got to back it up across the administration, not just ask for our help on such things as the war in Iraq and then within two weeks' time turn around and slap us in the face over one of our major exports," he said.

 

Mike Johanns, the agriculture secretary, said Wednesday that his department's suspension order covers the Australian exporter AWB Ltd. (AWB.AU) and its affiliates, as well as 11 individuals and a company based in the state of Minnesota.

 

The Agriculture Department said the order, effective immediately, prohibits participation "in any government procurements as well as many other  government programmes such as loan guarantees."

 

The order was based on evidence of "bribery, kickbacks and similar behavior resulting in payments to the Saddam Hussein regime," the Agriculture Department said in a statement.

 

AWB Ltd., formerly the Australian Wheat Board, was initially implicated in breaking rules regulating UN sanctions against Iraq after Saddam's army invaded neighbouring Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990.

 

A report by the U.N's Volcker Commission alleged on Oct. 27, 2005, that AWB had illegally diverted US$220 million to Saddam's government.

 

AWB spokesman Peter McBride said Thursday that the company had not received official notice of the decision and he played down its ramifications.

 

"We have not used the export subsidy programme since early 2004," McBride said. "We don't envisage using it in the foreseeable future."