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Don't Blame Us: We only Run the Country

Friday, 28th April, 2006

There is further evidence in the handling of the Kovco affair of the way that John Howard has redefined the meaning of the words "the Australian Government". When bad things happen "the Government" is no longer that whole apparatus stretching from the Cabinet table right down to the transport clerk in the Department of Defence.

The Prime Minister was quick to assure us yesterday that Kenyon International was responsible for flying the wrong body to Melbourne . Certainly not the Government. Not even the public servant or military officer who gave Kenyon the contract. That official's job, like so many in the new look Howard administration,  has been redefined to ensure there is a system of administration which enables political superiors to disown just the kind of mistakes that occurred with the coffin.  

The creation of AWB as a share market listed company is a perfect example of the new process. For 50 years wheat farmers were perfectly happy to have a government owned corporation efficiently handling their affairs but there was always the danger for a Primary Industries Minister that the realities of gaining export markets would prove embarrassing.

The backhanders to Iraq , after all, started in the pre-private enterprise days and perhaps there were a few advisers near the top of the government administrative tree who knew it. Now the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Trade Minister and all can blame a body they have no control of for seriously misleading them and the United Nations.

To narrow the definition of "the Government" still more, Mr Howard and his ministers exclude public servants and their own staff members from it. Ministers can now claim that the Government knew nothing when they don't put their own signature on cables from people like Bronte Moules at Australia 's UN Mission in New York .

Details of Ms Moules' cable of 10 April 2001 published in this morning's Australia clearly warn of Iraq 's attempt to extract "kickbacks and illegal commissions on contracts for humanitarian supplies."

This latest disclosure certainly makes you wonder why it is that only relatively junior public servants have been questioned by the Cole commission. I wonder if Ashton Calvert who was head of DFAT for most of the time in question and at the time when the cables were received in DFAT read them and if not why not? Surely he would have passed information on to his Minister. After all, he is the person who ultimately is responsible for sifting things for the ministers' attention.

Alas we will never know but under the Howard definition the head of Foreign Affairs is probably not a part of "the Government" anyway.