The U-N official responsible for assessing Oil-for-Food contracts has criticised the federal government for its lack of response to warnings Australia's wheat exporter, A-W-B, made illegal payments to the former Iraqi regime.
The former chief customs officer for the U-N Office of Iraq Program, Felicity Johnston says she heard Canadian complaints as far back as 1999, that the A-W-B was breaching international sanctions on IRAQ.
Ms Johnston admits the U-N has obligations to investigate those claims.
But she says the Australian government also had an obligation to investigate the matter, rather than take the A-W-B's assurances they were acting legally.