UPDATE –
AUGUST
LATHAM
LED LABOR OPPOSITION SUPPORTS THE HOWARD-ANDERSON COALITION IN A NATIONAL SELL
OUT OF OUR COUNTRY
RE: FREE
TRADE AGREEMENT WITH THE U.S.
On Thursday
June 24, 2004 more than 50% of Labor’s lower House member crossed the floor of
parliament to support the Howard-Anderson Coalition’s Free Trade Agreement Bill
with the U.S. Mark Latham’s federal opposition was supported publicly by his
six labor State Premiers, to pass the FTA in the lower house.
The veiled
secrecy by the Federal Minister for Trade Mark Vaile and his colleagues in
tandem with the Latham Labor opposition’s failure to, inform the Australian
public what concessions were conceded to the U.S. in exchange for a FTA is, an
act of total contempt against, the constituents who elected them to
democratically represent us, the Australian people.
We are going to
evaluate and simplify the true impact of the concessions conceded to the U.S.
for a FTA and prove beyond reasonable doubt that the two major political
parties (Liberal-National and Labor) have covertly betrayed their fellow
Australians.
Trade
Facts
Office of the
United States Trade Representative Washington, DC
U.S. –
Australia Free Trade Agreement, brief summary of the agreement
(1) An FTA for America’s Manufacturing Sector: More than 99 percent of U.S.
manufactured exports to Australia will become duty-free immediately upon entry
into force of the Agreement. This is
the most significant immediate reduction of industrial tariffs ever achieved in
a U.S. FTA, and will provide benefits for America’s manufacturing workers and
companies; U.S. manufacturers estimate that the elimination of tariffs could
result in $2 billion per year in increased U.S. exports of manufactured
goods. There will be significant
benefits for such key U.S.
Manufacturing sectors as autos and auto parts; chemicals, plastics and
soda ash; information technology products; electrical equipment and appliances;
non-electrical machinery; fabricated metal products; construction equipment;
paper and wood products; furniture and fixtures; and medical and scientific
equipment.
Fact: Australia
and U.S. Manufacturing Tariffs are already very low, the exception in a few key
areas where Tariffs do exist in the U.S., many will remain.
We will be
barred from selling our world class, high performance and competitive fast
ferries to the U.S. The U.S. gets 99%
access to our markets no questions asked.
The U.S. believe their manufacturers will benefit to the tune of 2
Billion dollars American per year under the FTA.
Phasing out of
Tariffs on manufacturing will be zero by 2015.
In lieu of Tariffs, we will have to accept complex “Rules of
Origin.” This means, that the goods we
export must contain a certain percentage level of “Australian Made” content to
qualify for Tariff reductions in foreign markets.
That means, our
textile producers who import their yarn are unlikely to qualify for any
concessions at all. Singapore believed
it was getting a good deal under it’s Free Trade Deal with the U.S. only to
discover the conditions under the “Rule of Origin” so difficult to meet they
just pay the Tariff, instead of wasting their time applying for Tariff
reductions.
(2) New Opportunities for U.S. Farmers: All
U.S. agricultural exports to Australia, totaling more that $400 million, will
receive immediate duty-free access. Key
agricultural products that will benefit from immediate tariff elimination
include processed foods, soups and bakery products, fruit and vegetable juices, dried plums, potatoes, almonds,
tomatoes, cherries, raisins, olives, fresh grapes, sweet corn, frozen
strawberries, and walnuts. Food
inspection procedures that have posed barriers in the past will be addressed,
benefiting sectors such as pork, citrus, apples and stone fruit.
Fact: With the immediate duty free
access on U.S. agricultural exports to
Australia, this will allow them to flood
our shores with agricultural goods that
Will conflict with our home grown
products.
Under the agreement, we will allow U.S.
Trade Delegates to sit on the board
that set our standards of
Quarantine. This will expose our
Quarantine
Regulators to added pressure to
compromise science based risk assessment,
placing animal, plant and human health
at risk.
Our high standards of quarantine have
already been impinged by the U.S. last
year (2003) when our regulators lowered
the bar by allowing the U.S. to
import Californian table grapes which
are infested with diseases that could
ruin not only our grape and wine
industry, but also our mango and avocado
orchards.
An added problem is the decontamination
of the grapes with Methyl Bromide,
a known carcinogen that is one of the
most toxic chemicals across the
Universe, which will be banned in the
U.S. from next year, except for
fumigating trade produce.
Owing to continual pressure from the
U.S. we have relaxed our quarantine
protocols to allow in pest and disease
affected pork, poultry, citrus and
stonefruit, and are proposing to do the
same with apples, bananas and pears.
The Howard Government is jumping with
joy when espousing the new market
access gained, but overlook that under
the deal our avocado producers will be
allowed to export to the U.S. for the
first time. They fail to clarify the
amount
of avocados we can sell during our peak
season is strictly limited.
In Australia we have no such
barriers. This is neither Free or Fair.
(3) Sensitive
to Agricultural Concerns: The FTA is sensitive to concerns that have
been expressed by Congress and U.S. beef and dairy farmers, and the agreement
uses tariff-rates quotas (TRQ) to respond to these concerns while increasing
trade. Beef: U.S. above-quota duties
will be phased out over an 18-year period, and initial increased imports from
Australia under the TRQ quota will amount to about 0.17% of annual U.S. beef production,
and 1.6% of annual U.S. beef imports.
The quota increases will take effect when U.S. beef exports return to
their 2003 (pre-BSE) levels, or three years after effective date of the
agreement, whichever comes first.
Safeguards will be available, including a price-based safe guard after
the transition period. Dairy: There will be no change in the U.S. MFN
above-quota tariff on dairy products subject to quotas, and initial increases
in imports from Australia under the TRQ quota will amount to about 0.17% of the
value annual U.S. dairy production, and about 2% of the value of total U.S.
dairy imports.
Fact: Some
Tariffs might come down – but not for our most competitive exports. Tariffs remain in place for key sectors like
wool (10 yrs) wine
(11 yrs),
steel, as well as beef, dairy, horticulture and cotton (18 yrs).
If our exports
to the U.S. rise “too quickly” or our process are too competitive against the
exchange rate, the U.S. Can Slap Their Tariffs Back On, - No Questions Asked.
If those in the
aforementioned industries believe they will financially benefit from the FTA,
then all we can say is “they must believe in the “Tooth Fairy.”
(4) Access to Services and
Investment: Australia will accord substantial market
access across its entire services regime, offering access in sectors such as
telecommunications, express delivery, computer and related services, tourism,
energy, construction and engineering, financial services, insurance,
audio/visual and entertainment, professional, environmental, education and
training, and other services sectors.
In broadcasting and audiovisual services, the FTA contains important and
unprecedented provisions to improve market access for U.S. films and television
programs over a variety of media including cable, satellite, and the
Internet. Most U.S. investments would
be exempted from screening by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.
Fact: Since the
Howard Coalition gave the nod for the FTA with the U.S. we have not heard one
word about the full sale of Telstra which 6 months ago was the Government’s
number one project. Let’s reiterate
this part of the FTA.
Australia will
accord substantial market access across its entire services regime, offering
access in sectors such as (we will deal with a few) Telecommunications, Energy
and Financial Services.
Would you be
confident that cost and services would remain affordable to the Australian
community if the U.S. Multi-Nationals were to purchase 100% of the following
service sectors; Telstra, Energy, (Electricity, Gas or Water) or any, or all of
our major banks?
Remember we’ve
agreed to most U.S. investments would be exempted from screening by the
Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.
This means that
90% plus of all Australian companies, could be purchased without screening.
(5) Recognizing the Importance
of innovative Pharmaceuticals: The U.S. and Australia note the
importance of ongoing research and development; of recognizing and
appropriately valuing the therapeutic benefit of innovative drugs; and of
transparent, expeditious, and accountable procedures. In implementing these principles, Australia will make a number of
improvements in its Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme (PBS) procedures that will
enhance transparency and accountability in the operation of the PBS, including
establishment of an independent process to review determinations of product
listings. The FTA establishes a
Medicines Working Group to further promote the agreement’s public health principles
through an ongoing dialogue between the United States and Australia. In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration and the Australia Therapeutic Goods Administration will work
together to make innovative medical products available more quickly.
Fact:
Bull-Dust! Australia’s PBS is recognized as the “Worlds Best” because of it’s
affordability. U.S. State Government’s
have been attempting for more than 10 years to implement their own PBS, but
U.S. Pharmaceutical companies keep taking them to court to prevent this as, it
would undermine their massive profits.
U.S. Drug companies want to further their greedy ambition for huge
profits by destroying our PBS, and the Australian Pharmaceutical Industry.
Under the
agreement our Government have given the drug companies what they least deserve,
increased protection against generic producers, a new body to sell the
“goodness” of over – priced U.S. drugs to Australians (the Medicines Working
Group), and an independent appeals process to challenge the listing decisions
of the PBAC, all of which will increase the price by 1.5 Billion dollars.
(6) Open and Fair Government Procurement:
U.S. suppliers are granted non-discriminatory rights to bid on contracts
from 80 Australian central government entities, including key ministries and
government enterprises. These
commitments are particularly significant and commercially important, because
Australia is one of the only developed countries that is not a party to the WTO
Agreement on Government Procurement.
Both countries are also committed to extending coverage of the agreement
to sub-central entities, and will be working with their respective states to
refine the extent of the coverage in the next few weeks. Australia will eliminate its central
government industry development programs, under which suppliers have had to
provide various types of offsets as a condition of their contracts.
Fact: Our
access to the U.S. Procurement Market will be severely limited by a number of
barriers and discriminatory policies.
The U.S. Government has retained the right to give preference to its
“small” firms, which are not small at all – employing up to 1,500 people.
How many
Australian companies applying for procurement contracts in the U.S. will employ
more than 1,500 people? We will also be
competing with hundreds of much larger U.S. firms in our own market – firms
that the U.S. Government supports with what it calls “Aggressive
Advocacy.”
We Can’t win
and the Government is aware of it. We
did not sign the W.T.O. Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA) because the
Government’s own report on the matter concluded that access to the U.S. Market
would remain limited by domestic regulations.
So why has the
Government suddenly changed its tune?
If competition in Government Procurement is so good, Why don’t we just
sign the WTO GPA?
(7) A Trade Agreement for the
Digital Age: U.S. and Australian authors, performers,
inventors, and other producers of creative material will benefit from the
higher and extended standards the FTA requires for protecting intellectual
property rights such as copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets and
enhanced means for enforcing those rights.
The agreement calls for each government to adopt state-of-the-art
protection for digital products such as software, music, text, and videos, and
encourages adoption of measures to promote trade through electronic commerce.
Fact: Australia
will have a waiver from U.S programs favouring U.S. firms and products.
While 28
countries also have such a waiver, in practice. “Buy American Laws,” continue to influence the purchasing
strategies of many U.S. Agencies. The
vast purchasing budget of the homeland security agency is being used to acquire
American produced goods, without competitive bidding. And a Law currently before the U.S. congress will make it
difficult for waivers to be granted.
The “Buy
American Improvement Act of 2004,” is aimed at restricting waivers of the Buy
American Law to prevent foreign firms gaining procurement contracts, and thus
protect U.S. companies.
More worryingly,
Australia have agreed to scrap our “industry Development Programs.” These allow us to set conditions in return
for granting procurement contracts to foreign suppliers in our own market.
Such offset
programs produce Net Benefits for Australian Industry and employment, i.e. by
stipulating that suppliers source local inputs, employ a certain percentage of
Australians, transfer technology, or similar actions. All this is to disappear.
In particular,
our young information and Communications Technology Industry, which has made
important strides under the mandated component of the procurement program, can
expect to lose out to the tactics of a well- subsidised Microsoft.
So while the
U.S. can keep and strengthen its “Buy American” Act under the deal, and
continue to subsidise its major exporters, we have agreed to abandon our
development programs. (The so-called
“Microsoft Clause”).
(8) Strong Protections for Worker Rights
and the Environment: Ensures effective enforcement of labor and
environment laws and establishes labor and environmental cooperative
mechanisms.
Fact: The FTA
is a continuation of the “Lima Declaration”
Link>>>>
Lima Declaration
The final part
of the jigsaw puzzle to be fully implemented is the agreement on Trade in
Services (Gats). In fact the Carr Labor
Government had the “cart before the horse” in tandem with the Howard-Anderson
Coalition when they permitted South African Workers to be utilised on a Carr
Government project the “Construction of the Lake Cargelligo Water Tower,” as
sweat labourers for slave wages.
For the full
facts of Gats in operation:
Link
>>>> The Gats Trial
Link
>>>> Free Trade – Gats by Stealth
(9) Increased Transparency: The agreement’s dispute settlement
mechanisms call for open public hearings, public access to documents, and the
opportunity for third parties to submit views.
Transparency in customs operations will aid express delivery shipments
and will require open and public processes for customs rulings and
administration.
Fact:
Transparency? Neither the Howard-Anderson Coalition, or the Opposition
Political Parties, have taken time out to explain what the benefits are for a
FTA to the Australian Community. In
this a Federal Election year the Government would be jumping up and down
espousing the Great financial benefits the FTA would be to Australia, instead
we are greeted with total silence about the deal.
The U.S. says
transparency in customs operations will aid express delivery shipments and will
require open and public processes for Customs rulings and administration.
Whilst in
Australia our Customs Service is almost non-existent in Law Enforcement and
Border Control. In fact our Customs
Officers are more qualified in clerical duties in lieu of Law Enforcement, and
this is evident when Customs over-all seizures of illegally imported contraband
does not come from good detection work, but from tip-offs.
Link
>>>> Minding the Gate
IS THERE DANGER AHEAD FOR
AUSTRALIANS WITH OVERDRAFTS AND MORGAGES UNDER A FTA?
Under access to
services and investment, American Multi-National Companies are able to purchase
100% of any of our Financial Institutions which would make any contract null
and void until that contract is renegotiated.
Should you be
unable to agree to a renegotiated deal, the new owners of your banking
institution are obligated to give you 28 days to settle your overdraft or
mortgage in full. If you are unable to
settle your account in full, the new owners will be entitled to foreclose on
your assets.
6 LABOR PREMIERS PUBLICLY
SUPPORT THE FTA!
Now that you’ve
been brought up to taws with the concessions we’ve conceded to the U.S. for a
Free Trade Agreement. We believe we’ve
provided indefensible evidence that Australia’s major Political Parties have
usurped us over 3 decades by working together in a Bi-Partisan method to
undermine our children or their children’s future.
We believe the
actions of the political parties is abhorrent and further more a total betrayal to the Australians who gave
their blood to give us a democratic and better and safer Australia.
Deregulation is
part of the mechanism for the FTA and the 6 State Labor Premiers legislated to
deregulate the dairy industry assuring farmers and consumers would be the
winners. For the full story go to:
Link
>>>> Dairy Deregulation
This was
another Bi-Partisan deal as the Howard Government imposed 11 cents a litre of
milk levy to consumers to make up a remuneration package for dairy farmers.
THE FOLLOWING IS, AN
ELECTION COMMENT BUT ONLY FOR CONCERNED AUSTRLAIANS
The Free Trade Agreement in tandem with Gats
will only become a reality if, apathetic Australians don’t exercise their
democratic rights and vote.
These include
the 2 million eligible voters who are not on the electoral roll and the 15% of
voters who cast an informal vote, not realizing the political debauchery we are
enduring is because they can’t be bothered, lazy or brain dead (only think of
themselves) to care about the direction in which our country is heading.
In fact these
un-Australian and irresponsible people are no different to our failed
Bureaucrats, who if they don’t have an answer to a problem, they stick it in
the too hard basket just as the non-voters say, “ordinary Australians have no
chance, you can’t beat them.”
It’s this type
of attitude and thinking, that has allowed party power brokers and Bureaucrats
to get away with what Australians are enduring today and in the near future.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO REVERSE
THE CURRENT TREND?
The answer is simple just as if we are
incompetent in our place of employment, we are sacked. This should apply to our elected members who
by supporting the FTA are practicing deceit by failing to explain to us the
constituent, what harm will be done to Australians re: the concession conceded
to the U.S.
This makes our
elected members incompetent and therefore it’s our democratic right to sack
them. We will be checking our
Independent candidates to scrutinize their policies and check where they stand
re; the FTA with the U.S. we will be placing the sitting member last and place
the next major party candidate on the ticket second-last, etc.
One further
suggestion, contact your local federal member (regardless of their politics)
and ask them what are the advantages to Australians re: the FTA? What concessions did Australia concede for
the FTA?
TABCORP PUNTERS BEWARE!
From August
2004 Tabcorp (TAB) will be introducing a new account keeping fee of $5.50 and
it will apply to any account that has been inactive for six months or
more. The fee will be charged each
month. NSW TAB punters take notice if
Tabcorp but is the NSW Totalisator Agency Board (NSW-TAB) this will apply to
you.
THE CARR LABOR GOVERNMENT
CONTINUES TO ALLOW NSW PUNTERS TO BE ROBBED
Almost from the
time the NSW Totalisator Agency Board (NSW-TAB) was privatised the Carr Labor
Government permitted the Tab to pay dividends rounded down to the lowest ten
cent denominator, for Greyhound, Harness and Thoroughbred investments i.e. If a
winning dividend is $1.99 the NSW Tab pays you $1.90. In other words the punter loses nine cents for every dollar
invested.
We can
“remember” when the Labor Party used to fight and protect the battlers, but it
is evident to all they have deserted their loyal supporters in favour of the
“Big End of Town.” It should be noted
Sport TAB a dividends to the lowest five cent denominator
I.e. if your
dividends is $1.99 the dividend paid is $1.95.
Hypocrisy! You bet.
Mr. Carr as a
former ordinary journalist and a reputed expert on the “American Civil War,” is
unaware of what a ten year old kid knows, a five cent coin is legal tender.
DON’T SELL YOUR VOTE TO
THE HIGHEST BIDDER
Whether the
Government or the Opposition offer financial benefits to you for your vote,
remember it’s you the taxpayer who funds it, i.e. Baby bonus or Tax Cuts.
For Hidden
Levies and Taxes, detail can be found at our:
Link
>>>> Picking our pockets.
THE SENATE VOTE
FOR THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT IS OUR FINAL HOPE.
IN THE NEXT
COUPLE OF MONTHS THE FOLLOWING FEDERAL SENATORS WILL DECIDE WHETHER TO VOTE FOR
A FREE TRADE AGREEMENT WITH THE U.S.
WE HAVE NO
DOUBTS THE FTA WILL LOWER AUSTRALIA’S STATURE TO A THIRD WORLD NATION AND WILL
BE IRREVERSIBLE.
AUSTRALIAN DEMOCRATS
LYN ALLISON (VIC)
ANDREW BARTLETT (QLD)
JOHN CHERRY (QLD)
BRIAN GREIG (W AUST)
ANDREW MURRAY (W
AUST)
ADEN RIDGWAY (NSW)
NATASHA STOTT
DESPOJA (SA)
AUSTRALIAN GREENS
BOB BROWN (TAS)
KERRY NETTLE (NSW)
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY
MARK BISHOP (W AUST)
NICK BOLKUS (S AUST)
GEOFFREY
BUCKLAND (S
AUST)
GEORGE CAMPBELL (NSW)
KIM CARR (VIC)
JACINTA COLLINS (VIC)
STEPEN CONROY (VIC)
PETER COOK (W AUST)
TRISH CROSSIN (NTH T)
KAY DENMAN (TAS)
CHRISTOPHER
EVANS (W
AUST)
JOHN FAULKNER (NSW)
MICHAEL FORSHAW (NSW)
JOHN HOGG (QLD)
STEVEN HUTCHINS (NSW)
LINDA KIRK (S AUST)
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY
(CONT)
JOE LUDWIG (QLD)
KATE LUNDY (ACT)
SUE MACKAY (TAS)
JAN McLUCAS (QLD)
GAVIN MARSHALL (VIC)
CLAIR MOORE (QLD)
KERRY O’BRIEN (TAS)
ROBERT RAY (VIC)
NICK SHERRY (TAS)
URSULA STEPHENS (NSW)
RUTH WEBBER (W AUST)
PENNY WONG (S AUST)
AUSTRALIAN PROGRESSIVE
ALLIANCE
MEG LEES (S AUST)
COUNTRY LIBERAL PARTY
NIGEL SCULLION (NTH T)
INDEPENDENT
BRIAN HARRADINE (TAS)
SHAYNE MURPHY (TAS)
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA
ERIC ABETZ (TAS)
GUY BARNETT (TAS)
GEORGE BRANDIS (QLD)
PAUL CALVERT (W AUST)
IAN CAMPBELL (W AUST)
GRANT CHAPMAN (S AUST)
RICHARD COLBECK (TAS)
HELEN COONAN (NSW)
ALAN EGGLESTON (W
AUST)
CHRISTOPHER
ELLISON (W
AUST)
ALAN FERGUSON (W AUST)
JEANNIE FERRIS (S AUST)
BILL HERRERNAN (NSW)
ROBERT HILL (S
AUST)
GARY HUMPHRIES (ACT)
DAVID JOHNSTON (W
AUST)
ROD KEMP (VIC)
SUSAN KNOWLES (W AUST)
ROSS LIGHTFOOT (W AUST)
IAN MACDONALD (QLD)
BRETT MANSON (QLD)
NICHOLAS
MINCHIN (S AUST)
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA
(CONT)
SANTO SANTORO (QLD)
KAY PATTERSON (VIC)
MARISE PAYNE (NSW)
TSEBIN TCHEN (VIC)
JOHN TIERNEY (NSW)
JUDITH TROETH (VIC)
AMANDA VANSTONE (S
AUST)
JOHN WATSON (TAS)
ONE NATION
LEN HARRIS (QLD)
THE NATIONALS
RONDALD BOSWELL (QLD)
JULIAN McGAURAN (VIC)
SANDY MacDONALD (NSW)