A song about the bribes paid by the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) and BHP to Saddam Hussein’s regime, while the Australian government was preparing to invade Iraq.
WHEAT SCANDAL
Another scandal has erupted
The Cole Inquiry is in the news
We’ve heard the wheat trade is corrupt
And we’re finding out who knew
The companies in question
Giants in their trade
The Big Ones playing big bribes
The secret deals were made
They knew about the kickbacks
That we know is true
The bribes were paid and the deals were made
As talk of war grew too
They said “I know nothing”
But we know what they said wasn’t true
We know that they knew ’cause it’s all in the news
But did they know that we knew, too?
The Wheat Board had a single desk
It was called Monopoly
The boardmen played the board game
And they paid the banker too
Then BHP saw profits In a country between wars
The UN had it’s oil for food
And passed out many laws
Then the people of the world cried “foul!”
And they said the children starved and died
The regime they attacked in words
Was also paid in bribes
A ‘humanitarian gesture’, paid with interest
Mr Cole called it a ‘soft bribe’
But the men who paid it were hard as stone:
Cowboys in the Third World
With plenty cash and guns
Cowboys in the Third World
If you see them, you better run
They knew about the kickbacks
That we know is true
The bribes were paid and the deals were made
While talk of war grew too
They said “I know nothing”
But we know what they said wasn’t true
We know that they knew ’cause it’s all in the news
But did they know that we knew that they knew too?
Their pictures on the TV
The cowboys aren’t ashamed
They pose for the cameras
And then try to share the blame
How high does it go?
Is it right to the top?
Do the roots of corruption
Hold big business to the ground?
They knew about the kickbacks
That we know is true
We know that they knew ’cause it’s all in the news
But did they know that we knew that they knew too?
(words and music by Romesh Senewiratne-Alagaratnam Arya Chakravarti)
Guitar, harmonica and vocals by Romesh
Dr Romesh Senewiratne-Alagaratnam's Blog 