PGA's western graingrowers chairman, Leon Bradley, has renewed his call for a "full forensic audit" of the activities of AWB Limited and AWB International regarding their dealings with wheat growers who

compulsorily pooled wheat over the past eight years.

He said this week Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke, told parliament the Export Wheat Commission had been directed to further investigate chartering costs imposed on the growers by AWB Ltd.

"However the net needs to be cast a lot wider than just chartering," Mr Bradley said.

"Excessive costs have been systematically deducted from grower’s funds in the National Pool since privatisation, with the deductions benefiting AWB Ltd, its management, and other parties.

"The recently released addendum to the 2007 Growers Report cites a $260 million loss incurred by AWB in what we would regard as pure speculative hedging, as there was no offset in a higher sales price for growers.

"Nevertheless AWB recovered this loss from the National Pool, in a typical example of the one sided 'heads AWB wins, tails growers lose' arrangement that typified the

circumvention of a system that was supposed to protect grower’s interests.

“These issues and AWB’s business practices demand a forensic examination of the single desk operations since 1999."

Mr Bradley said the single desk monopoly was "thankfully" almost behind us, with the imminent passage of the new Wheat Marketing legislation.

"However, Australian farmers deserve a full and truthful accounting of the period," he said.