The Federal Opposition says Australia's overseas aid agency was linked to the Jordanian trucking company at the centre of the AWB kickbacks scandal.
Documents obtained by the Opposition under Freedom of Information (FOI) show AWB was working closely with AusAID and its "international partners" to deliver wheat once it arrived in Iraq in 2003.
The Opposition's spokesman on public accountability, Kelvin Thomson, says the documents show the Government was up to its eyeballs in the scandal.
"You had Austrade officials meeting with Alia, ministers, officers being informed of the Tigris deal, and here we have AusAID taking over a wheat export contract, kickbacks included, lock stock and barrel," he said.
Mr Thomson says AusAID and Austrade must be forthcoming on their involvement in the scandal.
"It is regrettable that Austrade officials and AusAID officials did not appear before the Cole inquiry," he said.
"The public is entitled to get to the bottom of this matter and understand exactly what the role of government agencies like AusAID and Austrade was in these kickbacks."
The Federal Government will spend this weekend poring over the findings of the Cole inquiry, which was set up to investigate AWB's payment of $290 million in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.
Commissioner Terence Cole delivered his report to the Governor-General, Major General Michael Jeffery, in Sydney yesterday.
But newspaper reports suggest that Commissioner Cole will clear all Government ministers, and departmental staff of having any knowledge of AWB's dealings.
Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile is confident that will be the case.
"Well, we've taken that position from the outset, from the day that we entered the Cole inquiry to give evidence, and the written submissions we'd given and the officials in our department, we've maintained that from the start," he said.
But Mr Thomson argues there is only one reason that Government ministers are likely to be given the all-clear.
"The inquiry has been given rorted terms of reference. It has been limited to reporting on the conduct of AWB, it has not been allowed to make findings concerning the conduct of Howard Government ministers," he said.
"The Opposition expressly raised this with Commissioner Cole earlier this year and this was Commissioner Cole's response.
"So all along, the Howard Government has been seeking a verdict of AWB guilty, Government innocent."
Dave R.
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