By Xinhua,
Canberra : Some of the world’s biggest weapons manufacturers and arms dealers are among companies that have wined and dined Australian Defense executives and military officers, local media reported on Thursday.
According to internal government records obtained by Sydney Morning Herald, defense companies treated Australian Defense Department’s three-star personnel with more than 110 free dinners, lunches, theater and football tickets over the past three years.
Qantas provided more hospitality and gifts to senior Defense officials than any other company, including free membership to its Chairman’s Lounges at major airports.
Other companies gave officials tickets to art exhibitions, meals at exclusive restaurants such as Quay in the Overseas Passenger Terminal, and a variety of cocktail parties.
The record showed recently retired head of the Chief Capability Development Group, Vice-Admiral Matt Tripovich, enjoyed more hospitality than any other senior official, accepting almost one- quarter of all such events taken up by senior levels of the Australian defense establishment.
Admiral Tripovich, responsible for securing cabinet approval to buy new multimillion-dollar weapon systems, benefited from 28 invitations to dinners, concerts, the theater and rugby Tests.
Meanwhile, the Chief of the Defense Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston has accepted only a handful of invitations from the industry, which included an invitation to the Masterpieces from Paris exhibition put on by Qantas, a BAE Systems dinner and a Boeing cocktail function at the Canberra restaurant in Australia.
The Herald revealed Defense had spent more than 48 billion U.S. dollars in the four years between 2006 and 2009, in 83,000 contracts.
In that period, Australian Aerospace, the local subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, BAE, Thales, Boeing and Raytheon collected a combined 7.2 billion U.S. dollars from Australian taxpayers.
However, the Herald does not suggest these gifts were in any way solicited.
According to a spokeswoman from the Defense Force, when an official accepted a gift or hospitality which may be perceived as improper, this “would be investigated and appropriate action undertaken”.
The spokeswoman added that Defense officials were not allowed to accept gifts, during a tendering process or contract negotiation.