Australia's ambassador to the US, Dennis Richardson, says he will be responding to a US Senator's concerns about AWB's illegal kickbacks to the former Iraqi regime.
Senator Norm Coleman says he is deeply troubled by previous assurances AWB was not paying kickbacks.
Senator Coleman says Australia's former ambassador to the US, Michael Thawley, emphatically denied the payments were being made when Mr Thawley sought to block a proposed US senate inquiry into AWB in 2004.
He says he is particularly disturbed by evidence that Australian Government officials may have been aware of the payments.
Senator Coleman has sought a meeting with Australia's new US Ambassador, Dennis Richardson, to discuss the matter further.
A spokesman for Mr Richardson says he will be responding to Senator Coleman's questions, but not through the media.
Michael Thawley meanwhile refused to comment on the affair when approached by the ABC in Washington today.
Warning
Liberal senator and wheat farmer Bill Heffernan has warned international fallout from the AWB scandal could hurt Australian farmers.
Seven US politicians are demanding that Australia's wheat exporter be suspended from an export credit program for illegal payments to the old Iraqi regime.
The Australian Federal Opposition has vowed to pursue the issue in the Parliament.
But Senator Heffernan has told AM that problems for local farmers will be compounded if the Government and Opposition play politics with the issue.
"The damage will be ramped up and leveraged up not only by the US senators playing politics with Australia's farmers' livelihoods but there are now signs of the cheap game of politics being played in Australia.
He says he is disappointed with AWB officials.
"These blokes have been coming through my office for two and a half years telling me lies."
In other developments: Labor leader Kim Beazley says Australia's former ambassador to the United States would have been acting under instruction to tell a US senator that AWB was not paying illegal kickbacks to the former Iraqi regime.
Dave R.
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