UPDATE – SEPTEMBER PART TWO

ARE GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION PARTIES ACCOUNTABILITY, NON-EXISTENT, A SHAM,

A COVER UP OR ALL OF THE ABOVE

On Friday, August 6, 2004 a colleague put the following proposition to the Howard Coalition Government on the 2SM Grant Goldman Breakfast Show at 5:15am.

“Grant, if we’re to get honesty, Democracy and Accountability from Government, now would be perfect timing, for the Prime Minister and his Coalition Government in tandem with the Cross Media and their Political Commentators to present to the Australian public all the concessions that were conceded re: the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.

We are not asking for the 1,000 plus pages of the Agreement, we would be contented with the two page brief summary of the concessions conceded. A comparable summary that was available to the American public for their perusal by the Bush Government would be sufficient, allowing Australians to deem the value of the FTA. If the Howard Coalition is found to be truthful re: the benefits of FTA it can only be a plus for the re-election of his Government and at the same time allay the fears Australians have endured for the past couple of months.

In fact Grant, if I was Mark Latham I would demand that Mr. Howard and Minister for Trade Mark Vaille reveal all in Layman’s language.

Remember, it’s the Australian Taxpayers who finance their generous superannuation package and pay their wages. Its time for our elected Federal Members and their Bureaucrats to put their heads down and bums up and reveal the truth, and nothing but the truth, re: the Free Trade Agreement.”

The following Trade Facts Summary was made available to the American Public by the Executive Office of the United States President.

We want all concerned Australians to study and carefully evaluate the concessions conceded to the U.S. For those who have difficulties in understanding the “Trade Facts,” if you return to our main page – Index – Update August, you will find a simplified interpretation of the FTA,

Allowing, that blind Freddy can see that there are a lot more concerns with the FTA than just the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Television Content, one wonders why the Howard Coalition and the Opposition Parties continue to minimize the true impact that will be imposed on all Australians.

Trade Facts

Office of the United States Trade Representative

Washington, DC February 8, 2004

U.S. Australia Free Trade Agreement

Brief Summary of the Agreement

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.

Two-way annual

Goods and services

Trade with Australia is

about $28 billion, and

the U.S. has a

$9 billion trade surplus

with Australia.

Australia is America’s

9^th largest goods export market.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Strong Protections for Worker Rights and the Environment: Ensures effective enforcement of labor and environment laws and establishes labor and environmental cooperative mechanisms.

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 FILE

Or what our politicians hope you’ll forget

By Gareth Kimberley

WHO TO VOTE FOR, LIBERAL OR LABOR

Is there any real difference between Liberal and Labor? Of course! The Liberal/National Coalition is acknowledged as being superior to Labor in the management of the nation’s finances. But hang on, after producing one of the most fiscally sound and generous budgets of recent times the Coalition suffered a drop in the polls with a decided swing to Labor. So does the difference in economic management skill mean anything to the voters?

Apparently not, Labor has stated its policy, is to get rid of the crown, change our constitution, change our flag and turn Australia into a multicultural, socialist republic.

The Howard Government on the other hand “remains of the views that Australia is well-served by the current constitutional arrangements for our head of state.” But wait a minute, Howard will soon be forced to hand over to Peter Costello, an avowed republican! And who will be manipulating the levers of power then? Why he and his good pals John Anderson, Alexander Downer, Bruce Baird, Malcolm Turnbull etc, etc. All of them rabid republicans!

The Howard Government is determined to sell off the rest of Telstra whilst Labor has declared it opposes the sale. But wait just a moment, Labor was opposed to the GST which John Howard said we would never have. We got the GST anyway.

Labor’s policy on Iraq is to cut and run but the Howard Government’s policy is not all that different. It will remain in Iraq only for as long as it is required to do so by its American buddies.

But Labor is socialist and the Liberals are capitalists aren’t they? Yes, but they are both working for the same masters with the same long term aim-globalisation and total corporate domination of the planet. In the meantime, without a credible third party, Australian voters continue to be torn between the devil and the deep blue sea. So what about voting for the Greens or the Democrates? Forget it! The Greens are a negative single issue party while the Democrats are even further left than Labor.

As some one recently said, probably the best way to vote is to look for an Independent with policies you support and give him or her your first preference, putting Liberal-National and Labor second last and last in that order or the other way around if you lean to the left.

A TREACHEROUS TRIUMUIRATE

There exists a tightly interlocked triangle made up of politicians, bureaucrats and corporate barons that is now ruling the country in its own interests and is hiding its activities behind the smokescreen of free trade and globalisation. Using the media it seeks to convince the Australian people that globalisation is inevitable.

One of the master minds behind this not so subtle push is our smarmy Treasurer and IMF (International Monetary Fund) guru Peter Costello. Remember his immortal words, “Complaining about globalisation is like complaining about the telephone.”

The Howard/Costello Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. is of course supported by the opposition and American big business.

Permission to republish “Fact File” by Gareth Kimberley was granted by the Strategy Editor, Ray Platt who continues to fight for Liberty and Justice.

Should you be interested in subscribing to the Strategy Publication you can contact the Editor on: PH: (03) 5182 6002

FAX: (03) 5182 6042

Email: strategy@net_tech.com.au

OR: Mail to: The Strategy

344 Commercial Road

Victoria 3971

Now that you’re aware of the American version of the concessions conceded by the Howard Government, one has to ask, why have Talk Back radio hosts continued to debate the PBS and Television content only? With the exception of 2SM and Grant Goldman’s Breakfast Show which has allowed his listeners for and against the FTA to contribute to the debate which has been aired through the Super-Network relays between 5 and 6am week days.

The relay stations include:

2 AD - ARMIDALE

2 DU - DUBBO

2 GF - GRAFTON

2 LM - LISMORE

2 MO - MUDGEE

2 MC - GUNNEDAH

2 NZ - INVERELL

2 PK - PARKES

2 RE - TAREE

2 TM - TAMWORTH

2 VM - MOREE

RADIO 97 - TWEED HEADS

4 GY - GYMPIE

4 WK - TOOWOOMBA

With the exception of Grant Goldman the other Talk-Back radio hosts have failed to address the lopsided FTA in favour of the United States. I.e. Manufacturing, U.S. Farmers, Agriculture, Services and Investment Access, Innovative Pharmaceuticals and Open and Fair Government Procurement etc, etc.

Two examples that the Cross-Media have failed to put up for debate

(1) Food inspection procedures that have posed barriers for the United States in the past will be addressed, benefiting sectors such as Pork, Citrus, Apples and Stone Fruit.

(2) Most United States investments would be exempted from screening by the Foreign Investment Review Board.

It was remiss of us to overlook another print media the Sydney Morning Herald’s Editor responsible for election comment Robert Whitehead who also failed to highlight all the concessions conceded to the United States re: the FTA

IS PRIME MINISTER HOWARD’S NICK-NAME

“HONEST JOHN,” A MISNOMER?

We are going to provide evidence that prove Mr. Howard and his government have little credibility are unaccountable for their actions and turns a blind eye to “Law and Order.”

In 2003, a former law enforcement Customs Officer Robert Spanswick issued a summons against NSW Labor Premier Bob Carr re: his Governments invalid and illegal drug legislation which led to the licensing of the Kings Cross trial heroin injecting room.

Under the crimes act Robert had to contact all State, Territorial and the Federal Attorney – General re: his litigation, because the injecting room is not a direct concern to himself, and therefore needed the then Federal Attorney – General Daryl William’s permission for the case to continue.

Several concerned citizens corresponded with the Federal Attorney-General and Prime Minister Howard alerting them to the fact that the Carr Labor Government’s drug law legislation breaches section 109 of the Australian Constitution which in turn breaches Federal Law.

They were not arguing the merits of the drug legislation but the Constitutional impropriety and Federal offences committed by the Carr State Government. When you consider the Howard Government spent 100 million dollars plus to retain a Constitutional Monarchy all paid for by the Australian Taxpayer.

In fact the Howard Government and Opposition Parties both in Federal and NSW State, by turning a blind eye to these offences are in fact guilty of breaching Federal Laws themselves.

If you want the full text of evidence from the aforementioned State and Federal Government cover ups, return to our website main page and hit the Link >>>> Invalid Drug Laws.

When mistakes are made by Government Ministers they more than often will point the finger at their advisors, the Bureaucrats. The Bureaucrats are Nocturnal Creatures, who in the main have no hands on experience in the Government Agencies they control, are never elected and generally rarely seen.

Regardless of the bad advice a Minister receives the buck stops with them. It doesn’t matter how many changes of Government we have the majority of the Bureaucrats retain control of their particular agency, no matter what the result.

One wonders if the debate about the PBS and Television content re: the FTA by the Howard Government and the Labor Opposition in reality is a Bi-Partisan political red-herring for their audience, the Australian Public.

The Bush Administration made available the full benefits of the FTA with Australia to the American people, and yet the Howard Government and the Latham Labor opposition have gone to extremes to ensure the Australian People know as little as possible about the deal.

If you doubt that the two major political parties don’t work together against the will of the Australian People then study the evidence which will prove otherwise.

On October 22, 2002 two workers were killed and three others were seriously injured, when the Lake Cargelligo water tower they were working on collapsed. This was a NSW Carr Labor Government project in which four of the five aforementioned workers including one deceased were taking Australian jobs by working for sweat wages.

These workers were imported by the winning company who also brought their own scaffolding equipment from their country of origin.

Twenty one months has passed since this tragedy and still the Howard Government has failed to instigate an Independent inquiry. Why? How did these South African workers get their work visas?

How many more illegal immigrants are working for slave wages in our country?

The Lake Cargelligo Tragedy is on our main page Link >>>> Gats Trial

If you are truly concerned by the way in which we are being abused by the major political parties, we suggest you find time in your busy schedule to carefully peruse our entire website so that when the federal election is due you will be in a position to cast an educated vote.