Australian Prime Minister John Howard agreed yesterday to testify at an inquiry into sanctions-busting bribes paid to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's regime as his government was dragged deeper into a growing scandal.
The inquiry is investigating the payment by the national wheat exporter, the Australian Wheat Board (AWB), of US$220 million in kickbacks to obtain US$2.3 billion in contracts under the UN's oil-for-food program.
Howard's revelation that he had been asked to provide a written statement to former judge Terence Cole, who is presiding over the inquiry, came on the day Trade Minister Mark Vaile appeared before it.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is due to follow Vaile into the witness box today. They are the first senior ministers to be called to account by a commission of inquiry in more than 20 years.
Howard said he would also be prepared to appear personally if asked to do so. Senior counsel assisting the inquiry, John Agius, said the prime minister could appear as soon as Thursday.
Howard would be the first prime minister to appear at such an inquiry since 1983.
The inquiry has heard evidence that the government was warned repeatedly that AWB was paying huge bribes to Baghdad for years before Australia joined the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam.
The opposition Labor Party has accused the government of helping fund Iraq's purchases of weapons which were later turned on coalition troops.
Vaile, who is also deputy prime minister, said he was not told about the kickbacks until March 30, 2004, when the UN announced an inquiry into corruption in its oil-for-food program.
Vaile said he did not know about 21 cables warning of possible AWB corruption but did hear of one message, dated Jan. 13, sent by Bronte Moules, an officer at Australia's permanent UN mission in New York, to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which alerted officials to possible wrongdoing by the AWB.
But Vaile said he believed officials were dealing with it.
Another message dated March 11, 2000, to his department from Australia's trade commissioner in Washington Alistair Nicholas, urged officials in Canberra to alert Vaile to possible corruption.
Asked if he should have been shown the cable, Vaile replied: "In the context of this inquiry, when we came across the cable and when I read the cable ... I must admit I was surprised that it hadn't been brought to my attention."
A senior UN official who vetted the oil-for-food contracts with Iraq, Felicity Johnston, said she had warned Australian officials six years ago that AWB might be breaching sanctions. Johnston told the Australian Broadcasting Corp the ministers had a responsibility under international law to ensure their nationals complied with UN sanctions.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RSS