The Cole enquiry isn't in itself doing all the damage-it is the ALP desperate to win back political credence as a legitimate opposition that is throwing our wheat trade to the wolves. Like it or not the world of commodity trading and large scale commerce in which $300 million can constitute a 'kickback' is not for the faint hearted nor moral idealists.

The 'AWB scandal' like the 'children overboard' issue is more about semantics than deceit. With 'children overboard' kids who couldn't swim ended up in the ocean after their parents paid organised crime syndicates to traffic them illegally-whether the boat sank from parental sabotage or kids were thrown first is irrelevant. Similarly the oil for food programme was inherently flawed and the Volker enquiry pointed out that it is doubtful that any trade with Iraq was done during the subject times without some benefit to the Hussein regime.

It seems to me the left is effectively giving our foes ammunition against us. The US senator elected by the largest wheat growing constituency in America has wisely chosen to shut up- if US companies were subjected to a similar enquiry the dirt would be much deeper. Nonetheless American farmers are grinning at our own self cannabalism as no doubt the French and Germans are too.

How tenuously idealistic it is to constantly assert that Australia has an obligation to lead the world in moral standards and subject our government and business to higher standards of accountability than anywhere else. In the world of big business and trade we are going to get cast aside if the left continues to degrade the art of savvy and neccessarily vicious deal making.

Why can't we start turning the table on Kofi Annan's own son who made huge amounts from 'oil for food' or on the several hundred other companies named in the Volker enquiry. And don't say we need to get our own backyard cleaned up first- we may just get caught out by all our neighbours discarding their dirt in our yard too...

This article could be linked to the other 'kafkaesque' article about the sinister machinations of governement designed to subvert process and hide the truth.

But what what a lot of nonsense to blame the left, wre. The left didn't pay the bribes, AWB did. The left didn't expose the bribes, the Canadians who had refused to pay bribes first blew the whistle, then a UN inquiry uncovered the central truth of the bribes. The left didn't set up the Cole Commission, PM Howard did. The left did not cancel the wheat contracts to Iraq, the Iraqi government did. In fact, I find it hard to see any important role the left or the ALP (I don't consider the ALP to be 'left') has played in the fiasco. You can't blame the left for everything, wre.

So wre is playing the "shoot the messenger" game. Don't dare criticize a right wing government for corruption. because it's bad for the economy, the only acceptable measure of our country's success.

Now it's the ALP that is to blame for the AWB scandal. Not the poor well meaning AWB businessmen, or the blind eye turning politicians.

Well wre, that is a very slippery slope. What you are saying is that we do not need to expect standards of ethics or morality from our leaders and businessmen - if one other country in the world is corrupt then it's ok for us to be corrupt as well.

Why then do we seek to impose our supposedly superior standards on foreign countries. Democracy for Iraq we proclaim, but let's pray that they don't vote in a fundamentalist or left wing government.

Migrants should adopt the Australian way of life we say, because it is supposedly superior to their own.

The rule of law, law and order, we shout! Then we are happy for prisoners to be abused and denied due process by our allies.

The hypocrisy is breathtaking. The ultimate hypocrisy was Howard's in relation to the picture of the AWB executive with gun in hand. Oh we shouldn't judge him, we have all done silly things when we were overseas, says JH. Funny that, he didn't show such understanding in relation to the similar pictures of David Hicks.

Howdy
I guess the place of moral standards and ethical dealing in the cut throat world of vicious deal making is as a preventive. It prevents your competitors using your corruption to undercut your position and destroy your livelihood in the future. If the bribes had not been paid, we may not have sold that wheat in that market at that price. But we may well be in a better position to sell our wheat in any market now.

If the Government had better supervised the process at the time, they may have stopped the bribes and cost us the trade in that market at that time. However, we might be in a better position to sell our wheat in that market and many others now. And, as a bonus, our politicians would be able to point to the value of idealistic ethics rather than the costs of pragmatic corruption.

But hey, what criminal does the crime thinking they will be caught?

Odsoc

That's right guys. Economics is not the only measure of a country's success- welfare, education, health and living standards also contribute. Yet as usual the left can't seem to get past economics 101 and figure out the correlation! However you are absolutely right- I was amiss to blame 'the left' for 'everything'. The ALP can't make up its mind where it sits on the political spectrum because it love fantasising about a social utopia but has realised it needs economics to make it happen. Yet Rudd who is doing the damage to AWB is more a conservative liberal than most Coalition front benchers.

Can't judge ourselves by the standards of other countries? So Australia should become an isolationist island then? Perhaps we can call on Iran or the Shi'te Clerics in Iraq to give a sermon on how irresponsible we were? Should we beg them now for their contacts? As for the Canadians; is Quebec still a part of Canada? If so consult Mr Volker on how many Quebecian companies benefited from the French involvement in oil for food. By the way has anyone noticed that none of the other FORTY ODD countries implicated by Volker have initiated any inquiry?

As for losing the wheat contracts I'm sure that wheat will find a nice home in China. Of course the Chinese may choose to turn their nose up at it because their moral standards are so much higher than our's. Give me a break!

Written with all the self loathing, apologetic nonsense of a left wing Australian. Hope you're consciences have been appeased.

Tony,

Well, I can only say “welcome to the real world”.
To put things in perspective, the US farming lobby sooner or later had to break the AWB monopoly. Under the table deals is a common trade practice in large wheat & sugar deals and its practiced by all under different techniques (ie the US uses the US Aid pressure to assist American growers and exporters).

The international trade wars have to be done according to the US & FTA rules of engagement and not the good old monopoly techniques. Sooner or later we need to explore and MATCH the US farming & producers benefits or we can slowly but surely kiss our exports business good bye.

In summary, we need to forget old practices and understand and play by the new rules in order to win, the US rules that is.

Peace,