I dunno who Sean Healy is but his latest article is sobering for Aussies. It explains what’s happening with the current Free Trade Agreement talks between Australia and the US. The US have perfected the art of colonialisation by economic manipulation in South America and, well, Australia’s just a hop over the Pacific, isn’t it?!
Apparently the FTA has the USA looking to negotiate the elimination of various of our longstanding “safeguards”. Healy includes the following expected “targets”:
- Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The PBS, in place for 50 years, ensures Australians have access to subsidised medicines through the bulk purchase of medicines by the government. The US drug industry has long considered it a “barrier to trade” and is demanding it be overhauled - 15 companies have even formed a lobby group specifically for this purpose.
- Foreign Investment Review Board. The board enforces requirements for minimum Australian ownership in some industries. US industry wants the removal of its powers to specify ownership limits in the media, telecommunications, airlines and banking industries.
- “Local content” rules in film, television and music. The government regulates to ensure that a certain amount of content is of Australian origin, both to protect domestic entertainment industries and to ensure that specifically Australian cultural forms can be disseminated. The US entertainment industry is keen on removing such barriers.
- Labelling of GMOs. Australian law requires that any foodstuff containing genetically modified organisms must clearly labelled as such, and restricts the growing of GM crops. US agribusiness, the world’s largest user of GMOs, is lobbying hard for these restrictions to be scrapped.
- Quarantine rules. Australian laws on quarantine of food and other materials has traditionally been tough, to keep diseases which don’t occur here out of the country. US companies claim that these quarantine laws are in fact a “means of restricting trade” and are calling for them to be eased.
Pretty scary, huh?! And I bet you’ll see virtually NOTHING about it in the Murdoch papers. I’d like to think Fairfax will be more helpful… we’ll see.
