Government facing tough time

Australia’s Howard government has gone to great lengths to distance itself from the convoluted inquiry into the country’s monopoly wheat exporter, AWB.

Given the history of AWB, formerly a government owed corporation, and an intrinsic, vested interest in its dealings, this is no easy task.

However this is a government well used to mitigating the fallout from charges of corruption. Mere evidence that they knew, or should have known about AWB’s sanction busting activities, counts for nothing.

The closest they have come to any sort of admission was Deputy Prime Minister Vaile’s response to questions in parliament; "Through all this entire process the objective of our Government has been to look after the interests of Australia's wheat growers."

As to any specific culpability, the response has been along the lines of; “show us the documentation, show the memoranda or notes.” Because if it discussions are not recorded they are deemed unofficial and subject, of course, to denial.

To further distance themselves, the government makes another ingenuous claim: it was the job of the United Nations, rather than government officials or ministers, to make sure contracts under the oil-for-food program were legitimate.

The fact is, the UN sanctions expressly charged sovereign countries with the responsibility of ensuring the legitimacy of Oil for Food contracts with their own nationals.
This has been, pretty much a ‘drip drip’ affair. The post war Iraqi government has carefully orchestrated the release of vital evidence, entrapping company executives in their lies.

We don’t know if they have similar evidence against the politicians, but it might not matter when the executives start trading information for lighter penalties, once they are charged.
Former AWB boss, Trevor Flugge is a case in point. Flugge is no mere flunky; he is arguably the most influential figure in Australian agribusiness circles. Casting Flugge as puppet master to the Howard government does not even begin to stretch the imagination. What does stretch the imagination is the idea that he might carry the can and let the government off the hook.

Flugge is yet to face the Cole Inquiry. Perhaps they are saving the best, or at least managing the flow of new revelations. When his turn comes there he will not be afforded the memory lapses of earlier AWB management.
He will be faced with hard evidence of his and AWB’s sins.
Other company people are already showing that this evidence is conducive to a freer flow of information, information with has already started to implicate the government.

My guess is that Trevor Flugge will not simply accept blame and carry the can for it. He won’t go down without a whimper, and he won’t go down without taking a few government scalps with him.