Michael Pascoe writes:

It just might be understatement to
suggest the Cole inquiry has been making life difficult for AWB, but
there’s a clear sign this morning that what Terence Cole has uncovered
so far is just the warm-up.

A commission of inquiry is one thing,
but the company self-destructing through leaks and get-squares is a
much more dangerous matter.

It looks like that is what’s happening behind Marian Wilkinson’s scoop in the Smage
this morning. She has an Arthur Andersen report commissioned by the AWB
itself on its sanction busting in 2000 when the Canadians were ringing
the alarm bell. The icing on the leak is that daughter of the
then-chairman, Trevor Flugge, was working at the office of the London
go-between AWB was using to pay the kickbacks. Nice.

The report
anonymously quotes “two former AWB employees.” When the former gang
members start ratting, the game is well and truly over.

With
that clear message out, the way is open for Terence Cole and Co to find
suitable candidates to rollover. It shouldn’t take long. And it will be
most interesting to see how Wednesday’s AWB share price bounce survives
in the wake of the new evidence coming from outside the inquiry.