The Labor leader should come clean on his dishonesty over AWB

The Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd, should take the opportunity tonight to apologise for his dishonest attacks on the Australian Government and its officials over the activities of AWB Ltd. His launch of a book on abuses of the United Nations Oil-for-Food scheme affords Mr Rudd the ideal platform to retract publicly his scurrilous and offensive lies.

As recently as March 3, when speaking to journalists in Brisbane, Mr Rudd accused the Prime Minister of having "lied to the Australian people about $300 million worth of bribes paid to Saddam Hussein".

This false claim by the Labor Party leader is in direct conflict with the report by Commissioner Terence Cole, which said: “There is no evidence that any of the Prime Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Trade or the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry were ever informed about, or otherwise acquired knowledge of, the relevant activities of AWB.” [Vol 4 p 101, 30.242]

Mr Rudd told 60 Minutes on April 15 that he would “never knowingly lie” to the Australian people. But in deliberately ignoring the findings of a Commission of Inquiry, that is precisely what the Labor Party leader has done, and continues to do.

At the end of the day, Australians are entitled to ask themselves who is the more trustworthy – Mr Terence Cole or Mr Kevin Rudd. I think Australians already know the answer to that question.

After an exhaustive investigation, Mr Cole’s official commission of inquiry into allegations of AWB Ltd's improper dealings in Iraq reported last year that AWB Ltd officials had deceived the Australian Government, the United Nations, and their own board members, on the true nature of their activities in Iraq.

The five-volume report was the outcome of a year-long search of the trail of documents, the testing of witnesses under oath, and a rigorous examination of the facts of the matter. The inquiry was independent, transparent and called as witnesses and allowed cross-examination of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and myself.

Of my own role, the report said: “There is no basis for concluding that the Minister (for Foreign Affairs) knew, or was made aware during the currency of the Oil-for-Food Programme that AWB was inflating its wheat prices to incorporate inland transportation fees, or any other fees however described, or that AWB was paying money to Alia, or otherwise indirectly to Iraq. I am satisfied, on the material before me, that Minister Downer did not have that knowledge.” [Vol 4 p 95, 30.215]

As well as making false allegations about the Howard Government, Mr Rudd has accused Commonwealth public servants and officials of engaging in a cover-up – an allegation he extended to include the Commission of Inquiry itself.

Despite close examination of the role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, however, Mr Cole found “no material that is in any way suggestive of illegal activity by the Commonwealth or any of its officers”. [Vol 1 p 164, 6.26-27]

Throughout the AWB investigation, Mr Rudd led the charge of those eager to jump to the most lurid conclusions about the conduct of the government and its officials. Yet none of these monstrous allegations ever had any basis in fact. Mr Rudd had no evidence to sustain them. This has been established unambiguously in the findings of the independent commission of inquiry.

However, rather than admit the truth, Mr Rudd persisted with a grubby campaign to malign some of Australia's most diligent and dedicated public servants, including senior and respected diplomats.

The independent commissioner has set out the true facts of this affair. If the leader of the Labor Party wants to persist with his claim that he would “never knowingly lie”, it is time for him to admit he got the facts badly wrong in relation to AWB.

Media Inquiries: Mr Downer's office 02 6277 7500