This thread is not! about live exports.

There are serious issues to be addressed regarding Sentors and Ministers not disclosing information onto the public.

At a public enquiry ALL the facts should be disclosed as the public pay for it.

This was not done by the Shadow Minister of Trade at the time despite that particular issue being aired on 60 minutes just days before hand.
Lets say for eg the public enquiry had been into health concerns in private hospitals shall we.

Perhaps he or she had private interests in private hospitals.

Does a Minister or Shadow Minister have a duty to disclose all the information to the public.?

Especially when the public are footing the bill for the enquiry.?


THE RSPCA may had the answer for fed­eral Labor politicians struggling to galv­anise voters with the AWB bribery scandal.
Here was his big chance to grab the public attention. This was the moment he had waited for. When I called his office his staff told me he was having a hard time to get any media attention

It must of been tempting considering the 60 minutes had just had aired.
At last he had something the media and public wanted to know about wanted to know about.
AWB was the biggest thing in the country at that time.
More importantly the public were paying his wage. The only question that remains is this?
Why didnt the Shadow Minister of Trade inform the for public?

Should we pass a bill to ensure we the public who pay their wages are informed?
Recent Comments from mr Rudd State- "I understand these things".

What if it was an enquiry into child care and the Senator had an interest in child care?
The sooner donations to political party's are made public the better for the Australian public
Speaking of feeding the chooks.

paleif,
It's hard to beleive your thread is not about live exports when it begins "Rudd won't Ban live sheep exports" but I'll humour you.
Perhaps Mr Rudd,or whoever received your correspondence, realised the insignificance of such a connection. The AWB purchase of Landmark was NO secret. At around $800 million it may have been on the front page of the financial review, it certainly featured in it.

Yabby is correct in saying that any kickback money came from the Iraq regime in the first place through inflated wheat prices, a portion returned via transport invoices.
Keeping up with current affairs helps when you attempt to twist stories to suit yourself. Part of the "less egg on your face" principle.

Rojo

I am sick of you changing your post "names"
Landmark Westfarmers AWB are just names to the public. Few would connect AWB.

AWB enquiry was about connections to kick backs.
All the public heard was it was about the wheat board.
What the public didnt know was the wheat board also took over live animal exports. As it was a number two topic right at that time second only to the AWB enquiry it is reasonably to ask the Shadow Minister Of Trade why he kept silent.
I am sure the public as the reporter stated might have been very interested.
Aussies probably could not have cared less much about the money for kick backs about wheat but- if AWB had been publicly linked to the cruel live Export Trade it would have been different.
The one with egg on his face is Kevin Rudd
If he wont tell the public the whole truth about the AWB enquiry becuase as he said- He understands, what else will he keep Mum about.
Its not up to him to decide what the public may or may not care about but it is up to him as opposition to inform them about something that was such a huge issue at the time.
The other problem as I see it was that it was not even a smart move
I think we need our Prime Minister to be A more open
B A lot Smarter.
We as people need some bills past to make sure these people do their job. Not what suits their agenda or fits in with their life style.
I am no fan of Howards but at least hes smarter- We need someone with the experience and the backbone to stand up.
Come on how would you like Rudd as a mate? Perhaps we should ask the last two he stabbed in the back
Who ever said I was a Howard Fan must be on something.
He did the same thing now didnt he?
He didnt disclose this to the public either.
The difference is he got away with it.

Paleit, I think the real problem is your jumping to conclusions
about what Kevin Rudd said. Yes to some degree he does
understand these issues. As a kid, he grew up on a farm,
in pretty poor conditions. They did it tough. They knew
what it was like to have city people try to boss them around,
so he might well have some understanding of the effect that
some, who want to close down the live trade, can have on
the livelyhoods of tens of thousands of farmers.

Kevin can clearly empathise with struggling farmers, having
been through the same in his childhood.

Rojo is correct. The live trade was simply not an issue
in the AWB discussion. It was already public knowledge,
nothing to reveal, except to a few badly informed people,
but thats not Kevin's problem, its their problem, in this
case your problem.

Yes AWB own Landmark, yes they act as agents for some
farmers, big deal, so what? There is simply nothing there
to expose or get your knickers in a twist about. It was
and is, common knowledge!

When it comes to intelligence, frankly I think that Kevin
leaves Simon and Kim for dead! Clearly many Aussies agree
with me, judging by the polls.

Yabby

Hes not Robinson Cruso or the only one who grew up on farm.
Simply fact is he did not inform the public. It which was front line news at the very same time. He was sent copies at the same time the media were. They waited for his repose. Now how many Shadow ministers dodge! the media Yabby that you know? [ big mistake]
Green, silly.
He had a job to be the opposition Minister of Trade.
You may think he is bright and quite frankly that does not surprise me. I prefer Peter Beattie who runs rings around him both as a man a mate a leader
That aside -[except to a few badly informed people,
but thats not Kevin's problem, its their problem,] Your words.

You know very well the average person going about their day to work and picking up kids from school has bugger all idea about which company owns interests in live animal exports.

They mostly all oppose it but really would not have a darn clue who or whom owns and runs the discusting trade.

That is why they work hard to pay the leader of the opposition for Trade to keep them informed. AWB was a big enquiry and he knew.!
Thats sneaky and down right dishourable. In a way its good I suppose because at least the public can form their own minds now as to his not informing them.
I think it would be fair to say many will form their own view. Thats only going to highlight the conflict of interest across the board.
I mean you have got Gorden Nuttle with his personal interests and look how angry the public are about that.
He may well understand the way things are done in china Yabby but Aussies dont like cover ups.
Especially when they are paying for a enquiry.
Anyway your a bit Rich. You are on record complaining about the Uns buggerying up plants and now your pro Labour.
Thats a bit of a double standards isnt it?

"Anyway your a bit Rich. You are on record complaining about the Uns buggerying up plants and now your pro Labour.
Thats a bit of a double standards isnt it? "

You are putting words into my mouth. I am not a party person,
but an issues person and judge individuals how I find them.
Yup, I judge Kevin to be a smart fellow, far smarter then alot
of other politicians, like umm Simon or Kim. What party they
belong to is not what I am about.

Regarding alleged cover ups, you still don't get it. Nothing
was covered up. The Landmark-AWB story was in every
Australian paper at the time. AWB wanted a reason to exist,
in case the single desk story failed, so they bought Landmark,
who run around 400+ stores for farm supplies etc. Anyone who
read the financial press or rural press, knew all about it.

If some people are too busy watching "Days of our Lives" or whatever
on tv, you can't now accuse Kevin Rudd of a cover up, simply
your own problem of being badly informed and not bothering to
read the press in front of your nose.

So there is no issue where you claim that there is one. Thats
your problem and your lack of reading the press, not Kevin's
problem. Fair is fair, don't blame others for your mistakes!