Just to keep people up to date with the AWB the Govt is trying everything it can to bury the story... I mean the Treasurer brings up a controversial issue on Muslims just to distract the media's attention and it worked to some degree.

When listening to politicians I have always found that if they encourage you to look somewhere it is often becasue they are diverting your attention from somewhere else where you should be looking.

Laurie Oakes has an interesting piece here - http://news.ninemsn.com.au/oakes

There was another interesting piece on Nine MSN critical of John Howard which suddenly seems to have disappeared. Amazing!

So please people for the wheat growers of Australia's sake don't let our conservative politicians divert your attention from this most important issue. The diversionary tactic is used by all sides of politics to deflect people's attention when they are in trouble and the conservatives are in trouble.

Our international reputation has been placed at stake, and noone is really taking the proper responsibility.

Opinionated, I think there have been developments. The guy who testified for instance, that anyone doing business with Iraq was paying something at that time. If you wanted to sell something,
you paid or no business.

Wheatgrowers will survive on the quality of their product and its
competitiveness. Its the Cole enquiry, with all the publicity,
that is doing them damage. Before that, it was simply not an issue.

Its not the role of farmers or the AWB to tell people in other parts of the world how to live or how to do business. The Middle East is already highly sensitive to arrogant Western interference in their part of the world. Now you want us to preach morality to them, whilst the West sends them George Bush, sheesh..

You sound to me to be more concerned with getting rid of the Howard Govt then with the plight of wheatgrowers. Labour will do it when they finally bring some talent into their team, but with Beasley,
Latham and Crean as examples of the best they have, perhaps they had better go back to the drawing board and try again.

Yabby,

Yes I think the Howard Govt has to go.... as I think the Beattie Govt has to go in Qld... PLUS I believe that the strength in our democracy lies in our willingness to vote against those we would normally vote for when they do the wrong thing. Both Howard and Beattie Govts. have succesfully passed the prerequisites of doing the wrong thing.

I am not party affiliated in any way... but I am one who believes that sites like OLO should not only be informative but should also educate people.

If you go back and read what Bushbred said in an earlier post you will realise that at least in WA the wheat growers are most concerned about all these developments.

There will be many wheat growers reading these pages who do not contribute... Likewise many readers of OLO may not be aware of how easily the media and therefore they can be diverted by clever political tactics.

The Aussie Govt could actually turn this into a PLUS by insisting that Bush do the same thing in the USA by opening an enquiry but alas they don't seem brave enough to do that.

The buck stops at the PM's desk on this issue and he should resign and allow the people to assess whether they want him to remain in control by going to the electorate. Changing the Govt would prove that Aussies don't accept paying backhanders as a legitimate way of doing business and that the AWB scandal in no way represents the Australian Way.

As for Labour putting up better people... Keating lost to Howard, because he was perceived as arrogant and mismanaging things. Howard was just in the right place at the right time. Beazley may well become PM for the same reasons as Howard did. It just proves the lack of depth in the quality of our pollies on both sides.

Opionated, I know what WA wheat growers think lol, I live in the
West and grow wheat amongst other things, I'm just a bit younger then Bushbred.

Of course people are nervous what the Cole Commission and all the politicking that goes along with it, is doing to the industry, fair enough. Farmers also understand the realpolitik. If Australia
only sold wheat to customers whose morals and ethics we approve of,
we would lose two thirds of our customers! If the Govt kept out
of that realpolitik, then in fact they did the right thing and are not just beaurocratic dreamers, as are so many pencil pushers.
Farmers are here to trade and make a living, not to moralise.

The UN story was not just about US companies, but 2000 companies from around the world, as the way the UN ran it was in fact a pathetic disgrace, with director after director resigning from their posts, as they were disgusted too.

It is absolutaly pointless throwing one Govt out of office, unless
you have some better talent to replace them. As Labour simply don't have that right now, perhaps they should put in some effort to get some talent. I say that as a swinging voter, who votes more on issues then for parties

Yabby,
I hate harping on a point, but sometimes it is necessary.
The Cole inquiry and the possibility of corruption on the part of AWB and negligence by the government in their oversight is NOT about the ethics, morals, or laws of the people to whom we are selling wheat.

It is about the compliance with Australian law, the ethics and morals of the AWB (in an Australian context), and the integrity of supervision under Australian law by the government and its agents.

Now, if you honestly believe that there is some principle that applies in the case of commerce overseas that does not apply to commerce in Australia, then please state it. And, "when in Rome do as the Romans do" doesn't cut the mustard. Again, it justifies taking the families of foreign officials as hostages to secure contracts. Presumably this is and was against the law (as writ, if not practiced) even in Saddam's Iraq. It is certainly against the law in Australia. I suspect it contravenes international law as well.

The pursuit of profit from trade has been regulated for a long time. While the English have a long history of piracy as a means of trade, I'm not sure it is the kind of heritage or precedent we want to claime here and now.

odsoc

Yabby, as another WA Cockie, pleased te meatcha, mate. Bein' younger, and up with it more than me, guess you've heard the latest about our former National Party and Deputy Prime Minister, John Anderson. How he sold AWB shares a year or so ago before he quit the Parliament. Already Kevin Rudd is on to it, but the point is, what do us cockies do about it? As I've mentioned before, wish we had someone back like Black Jack McEwen to straighten things out, had plenty to say to Bob Menzies and all.

But those days are gone, Yabby, as I try to tell my spoilt college-bred grandkids now running our farms. To them Johnny Howard and Iron-Bar Tuckey, are all they say they need. Looks like little Johnny has got all the young ones sorta dumbed down with terrorism and all. Guess its become a case of yours is not to reason why, yours is but to do or die for Johnny H' and Georgie W'. With us old cockies now, however, it is time to teach our grandkids how reason should be really used.

Faith in Australian politics right now unfortunately, has become so much misguided, it is about time we looked back to recover some of our tried and tested country-style Aussie commonsense.

George C, WA - Bushbred