Horsemeat scandal provokes big Australian inquiry

Press, 3 September 1981, Page 4

Horsemeat scandal provokes big Australian inquiry

NZPA Canberra The Australian Government yesterday announced a major inquiry into fresh allegations surrounding the meat export scandal. The Acting Prime Minister (Mr Douglas Anthony) said a special inter-departmental committee, headed by the Prime Minister’s Department and the Cabinet, would investigate assertions made in the “Bulletin” magazine. These were that export beef substitution was underwritten by possible corruption on the part of individuals in official positions; the determination of Commonwealth “higher-ups” to turn a blind eye to improper practices; administrative timidity; and bureaucratic inefficiency. The practices involved the substitution of horse and kangaroo meat, and inferior domestic meat for certified export-quality beef. Among new developments in the scandal are:

• Informed sources confirmed the assertion of possible corruption involving in-t dividuals in official positions, although they were reluctant to provide details. • Mr Anthony raised the possibility that the Minister of Primary Industry (Mr Peter Nixon) would visit the United States personally to explain the scandal.

• The chief of Australia's Federal police (Sir Colin Woods) has suggested that earlier Commonwealth Eolice investigations dating ack to 1975 were not pursued with sufficient vigour. “There is a real possibility that we may need to send Mr Nixon to the United States,” said Mr Anthony. “But we have ; to get all the facts. Until we get a report on the investigation, it is a little hard to send Mr Nixon off without Sil the facts."

Replying to the revelation

that knowledge of malpractice in the export trade was conveyed to Commonwealth authorities as early as 1975, Mr Anthony said: “If there have been allegations, we want to see what work has been done on them.

“I would have hoped that these matters would have been followed up. It is easy to be wise now, but the fact is that it has not been done and I want to know why.” He said it was “better late than never” that the police had confirmed the report about inaction on previous reports of malpractice in the beef export industry. The Government wanted to review the whole procedure of meat inspections to see that there could not be substitution or abuses. "We do not want to leave one stone unturned because the situation is very serious,” Mr Anthony said. Some big meat exporters have asked Mr Nixon to go to the United States to outline the positon fully. Sir Colin Woods had said that if there was corruption in official positions the Australian Federal Police would “discover” it.

He had read all reports dating back to about 1975 of previous investigations by the Commonwealth police, now the Federal police. Asked why those reports were not acted on, he said: “Well, we have had one conviction. Police life is all about knowing who did it and never being able to prove it. “Maybe if more resources had been applied,' different results would have followed. I make no secret of the fact that I think some of these investigations, if pursued with more vigour, might have produced a different result.” Sir Colin said he could not fault decisions made by prosecuting authorities.

Of the current investigations, he said nothing was being left undone. A difficult factor was that television had conditioned people to expect an early result.

Statements had been made on television that the police knew who were guilty and should arrest them immediately.

“It is incredibly naive to suggest that the police should act prematurely until they have acquired all the evidence,” he said.

Laboratory tests took a long time to complete and documents had to be subjected to scientific examination.

“So the whole idea that the Federal police are sitting there knowing who did it, and for some lack of will or determination they are not getting on with it, is absolute rubbish,” said Sir Colin.

The Labour . Party’s spokesman on primary industry, Mr J. Kerin, said yesterday that Government must set up a Royal Commision into the Australian meat industry. It should have the widest terms of reference to cover all aspects of the processing and distribution of export and domestic beef, he said.

“The Opposition believes that nothing less than a Royal Commission can now restore public confidence in Australia and overseas in our meat industry.

“This is because of the widening allegations of the most serious kind against illegal meat industry practices.

“These allegations include not only fraud on a huge scale, but possible corruption at an official level,” Mr Kerin said.

“The allegations are now too serious for normal police investigations. Mr Nixon and his Cabinet colleagues must act on a Royal Commission.”