Australian ambassador meets US senator over AWB scandal

LOS ANGELES - A powerful US senator who has criticised Australia's handling of AWB kickbacks to Iraq now says he is confident Australia will deal with the issue properly.

US Senator Norm Coleman met Australia's ambassador to the US, Dennis Richardson, in Washington DC today to smooth out US concerns about the AWB controversy.

The meeting was called after Coleman said last week he was "deeply troubled" by the representations made to him by the then Australian ambassador in Washington DC, Michael Thawley, at an October 2004 meeting.

At that meeting Coleman said Thawley "unequivocally dismissed" claims Australian wheat exporter, AWB, was making illicit payments to Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.

Evidence has since emerged the AWB paid US$300 million in kickbacks to Hussein's government, raising questions about how much the Australian government knew of the bribes.

Coleman said today he accepted Australia's assurances that there was no intention to mislead, and believed the Cole commission inquiry investigating the matter would be thorough.

"We look forward to the Cole investigation," Coleman told ABC radio.

"I believe that the Cole inquiry will sort all this out.

"Everything that I have and seen tells me that the inquiry is a very substantive one, is an independent one and will sort that out."

Richardson said the meeting with Coleman was businesslike.

Richardson said he defended Thawley in today's meeting with Coleman, describing the former ambassador as "honourable".

"I said I could assure him that the representations made by ambassador Thawley were in good faith; that the AWB was considered by the Australian government and by others to be an organisation of integrity and repute and that if I had of been in Ambassador Thawley's position I believe I would have felt confident in providing the same assurances in terms of information available to the Australian government at that time."

Prime Minister John Howard last week asked Coleman for an apology after the senator alleged evidence appeared to implicate Australian government officials in the AWB scandal.

Richardson said he did not seek the apology from Coleman at today's face-to-face meeting, held in the senator's Washington DC office.

"This was not a meeting about apologies," Richardson said.

"This was a meeting designed to address the legitimate issues Senator Coleman had and the meeting did that."

The meeting appears to have eased tensions between the Australian government and Coleman, a Republican from Minnesota who also is the head of a US Senate inquiry into illegal payments made to the former regime in Iraq.

Richardson said Coleman acknowledged the inquiry under way in Australia investigating the AWB bribes scandal, headed by retired judge Terence Cole, was transparent.

"The upshot of the meeting was Senator Coleman said he accepted the assurances that I have provided about Ambassador Thawley's representations being made in good faith," said Richardson, who replaced Thawley in Washington DC in June last year.

"He said he would continue to follow the Cole Commission closely and he would also follow closely the Australian government's follow-up to the recommendations.

"I said we could understand that and I assured him that the government has stated publicly that it would follow up quickly on any recommendations made by the commission."

- AAP