Recommendations of
One Nation
1. One Nation is
determined to protect Australian jobs, industry, agriculture, manufacturing,
our culture and our natural heritage. We
therefore strongly reaffirm the principle of national economic sovereignty and
reject any attempts to usurp or undermine it.
2. Free trade has
caused massive and catastrophic dislocations throughout the industrialised and
developing world. As an industrialised
country, Australia must consider the problems that free trade has brought upon
other developed nations and take all steps necessary to protect our citizens
from similar events.
3. We seek to place
the needs and interests of our citizens, not multinational corporations, or
foreign countries at the heart of our democracy.
4. We recognise the particular vulnerability of agriculture
and manufacturing in the global economy. We are committed to protecting them.
5. In this context,
tariffs, export quotas, rules that favour our own industries and the right of
self determination are critical for our national advancement.
6. We believe that
the treaty making process should rest with elected representatives, who
determine what is in our national interest by way of a vote on the text of the
agreement and enabling legislation.
Executive and cabinet must not have the final say on the text of
treaties and trade agreements.
7. We stress our
concern with transparency of free trade agreements, particularly negotiating
strategies, the views of interested parties and the relationship between political
party donations.
8. We reaffirm the
right of the Australian parliament to regulate, legislate and protect
exclusively Australian interests.
9. We note with
particular concern the issues raised by witnesses that appeared before this
Committee.
10. In view of these considerations and having an understanding of the damage wrecked
by previous free trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA). One Nation is opposed
to the United States Free Trade Agreement and makes the following assessment
and recommendations.
Len Harris: Senator for Queensland
ASSESSMENT OF AUSTRALIA- US
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
One Nation, based on
the overwhelming body of evidence before the Select Committee on the Free Trade
Agreement between Australia and the United States of America is opposed to this
Free Trade Agreement.
One Nation opposes the
philosophy, opposes to the process and opposes the policy of free trade.
Our opposition does
not mean we are Anti- American or Un-Australian. Rather, our opposition is based upon the
fact that through this agreement, Australia loses its economic sovereignty.
-
The right to
protect our own
-
The freedom to
grow our own industries
-
The right to
foster our own culture
-
And the ability
to help Australians first
The FTA severely
restricts and confines the role of our democratic government. In many cases, the final say in many cases is
given to dispute resolution bodies- a panel of three people - not to our
elected decision makers in this Parliament.
The final say is out of our control.
NAFTA
One Nation is
concerned by the similarities between the Australia-US FTA and the North American Free Trade Agreement
between the US, Canada and Mexico.
Key sections of the
US- Australia FTA are exact copies- word for word- from NAFTA. Under this agreement, Australians will be
competing in the US with the Canadians and Mexicans and anyone else that the US
has a free trade deal with.
NAFTA has been a
huge success for big business. But not
for the family farmer, workers and manufacturers. It’s
been nothing more than a seven year economic war.
The U.S. website of the US Department of Labor,
in the NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance Cases section, tells a
chilling story.
In thousands and
thousands of cases, across all US States, and many, many industries, the
Department of Labor concludes there has been a “Shift in production to Mexico
or Canada”. The effects are so bad that
the US Labor department even maintains a web page titled “mass layoff statistics.”
Our Australian
government and the ALP have now endorsed this free trade process, which is
proven to cause massive job losses in the US itself. It is nothing more than planned, deliberate,
suicidal destruction to go down this path.
HISTORY OF FREE TRADE
Free trade is
not the utopia its proponents claim.
The history of Fee
Trade is not new; there are many historical examples to demonstrate that free
trade, particularly in agriculture, does not work.
The book, 'Grain
through the Ages", published by Quaker Oats company, describes this debate
in the first and second century B.C. in the Roman Empire.
It states:
"One reason for the
decline of grain farming in Italy was the importation of grain into Rome from
the rich grain lands of Sicily and Egypt, In Sicily, these grain lands had been
appropriated by rich men and scheming politicians who farmed them with slave
labor.
As a result the markets
of Rome were flooded with cheap grain. Grain became so cheap that the farmers
who still owned small pieces of land could not get enough money for the grain
to support their families and pay their taxes.
They were forced to turn
their farms over to rich landowners. On the land of Italy slave gangs working
under the overseers took the place of the old Roman farmers, the very backbone
of the state.
The farmers, after their
land had been lost, went into the city walls, leaving the scythe and the
plough. They worked now and then at a small wage. They ate mostly bread made of
wheat which was distributed to them by any politician who wanted their votes at
an election.
They lived in great
lodging houses three or four stories high. The land itself became poor?The use
of slaves meant that the land was badly worked because usually the slaves did
as little as they possibly could unless they were under the eye of the
overseer?. In the end, the land itself was destroyed by this economic process."
RISING IMPORTS
Imports into
Australia have just risen for the fourth consecutive month. The latest trade figures show that we are
importing more than we export. This is
the worst financial year for trade in the twenty year history of the
statistical record. The trade deficit is
$24 billion up from $18.6 billion the previous year. The ratio for export
credits, this year was minus 17. The
only worse year in history was in 1986 when it was minus 21 that was the year
of Paul Keeting’s banana republic.
So trade has got
little to do with Australia’s supposedly robust economy. No member of the government can claim that
the economy is going gangbusters- due free trade policies- not when we are
importing more than we export.
COMPETITION
Over the last 15
years almost a quarter of Australian family farmers have gone out of business.
Official figures
from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate that the number of farming
families in Australia decreased by 22% between 1986 and 2001. If this trend
continues at the present rate, more than half of Australia's family farms will
be lost within the next 15 years. With this FTA, the trend of small family farm
closures will only accelerate.
In the U.S., 33,000
farms with under $100,000 annual income have disappeared during the first seven
years of NAFTA. This is a rate six times
higher than the pre-NAFTA period. While Canada's NAFTA agricultural exports
grew by C$6 billion between 1993 and 1999, net farm income declined by C$600
million over the same period instead of rising by $1.4 billion as Agri-Food
Canada had predicted.
Since NAFTA, the
rate of Canadian farm bankruptcies and delinquent loans is five times that
before NAFTA, even as Canadian agricultural exports doubled. Dropping prices
meant that in Canada, farmers' net incomes declined 19% between 1989 and 1999,
although Canadian agricultural exports doubled during that period.
On the Atherton
Tableland and Far North Queensland, we have witnessed, first hand,
the destructive forces of free trade.
Tobacco, Sugar, Dairy, Prawn Trawling, bananas, apples, pork are all
either going to the wall or are under threat.
Under this
agreement, all US agricultural imports into Australia - many of them grown on corporate farms which
are heavily subsidised by the US government - will gain “immediate duty-free
access”.
The US can
automatically access our dairy and beef market, but there is an 18 year gradual
phasing in for us to access theirs.
Based on empirical evidence from NAFTA it is likely that over the 18
year ‘phasing in period’ Australia’s dairy and beef will be virtually annihilated. They won’t need access to the US because
there will very few of them left. It is
likely that only a few big agribusiness companies will control the market
between Australia and the US with a few niche exporters. Then, due to large agribusiness making large
donations to the Liberals, Nationals and Labor, the government of the day will
decide to subsidise agribusiness. Our
own local producers will be competing with increased imports of subsidised US
beef, dairy products, almonds, tomatoes, cherries, olives, fresh grapes, corn,
frozen strawberries, and walnuts to name just a few. Our cheese market, which
is currently quite well protected via tariffs will be opened up to US
competitors. Others products such as
potatoes and raisins, will have their existing 5% tariff removed.
MANUFACTURING
During the debate on the FTA legislation in Parliament, One Nation received
petitions from nearly 1000 workers in the manufacturing industries, pleading
with us to stop this agreement. Under
the FTA, more than 99 percent of U.S. manufactured exports to Australia will
become duty-free immediately upon entry into force of the Agreement. U.S.
manufacturers estimate that this elimination of tariffs could result in US$2
billion per year in increased U.S. exports of manufactured goods.
The FTA makes it extremely
difficult, if not impossible, to implement the kind of national economic and
industrial development policies that are necessary to build up a strong
national economic base.
One Nation is well aware and shares the concerns expressed by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. A recent media release states:
"Our 15% tariff
will go down to zero when the Free Trade Agreement takes effect. This is likely to produce huge job losses in
our industry as American Auto parts will flood the Australian market."
With the stroke of a
pen, this FTA will destroy what’s left of our manufacturing industries. Anyone that doubts this need only examine the
US Department of Labor Statistics. One
sector of our economy is being played off against the other.
SERVICES SECTOR- GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
At present, the US
has access to Australian government procurement but Australia does not have
access to the US market. That is because
we didn’t sign up under the WTO to this section of GATS, which is on a reciprocal
basis, and Australia wanted most favoured nation status. In other words, under GATS, we gave the US
access and we got nothing. Now finally,
we get access to US government procurement, but at great cost to many other
sectors of our economy.
INVESTMENT
One of the many
problems with the FTA is the investment chapter which prohibits any imposition
of terms and conditions on foreign investors.
It requires our Federal, State and Local governments to treat domestic
and foreign-owned corporations on an equal basis, and to grant US companies
most favoured nation status. We will now have to favour US multinationals as
much as our own Australian companies at all levels of government procurement.
PBS
On Tuesday 3
August 2004, Senator Hill, representing
the Trade Minister responded to One Nation’s question on the PBS in relation to
the FTA. One Nation notes with great concern that the
US can apply for a review in the cost of prescription drugs here in Australia,
but in the letters of exchange, Australia has no such right in terms of access
to the US market. The US can apply for
adjustments in the prices of our prescription drugs. That’s it.
Cut and dried, in the Agreement.
COMMITTEES OF THE AGREEMENT
One Nation has
significant concerns about the Committees that operate within the parameters of
this Agreement the problems with the PBS committee are well documented, most
recently by the ABC’s 4 Corners program. The Agriculture Committee, established under
Article 3.2. is only established in very
broad and generalised terms. Australians
don’t know when it will be established, what its terms of reference are, what
its powers are, or whether the resolutions of the committee will be
binding. There is a lot that will be decided behind
closed doors.
CORPORATE LOBBYING
Multinational companies and peak business bodies in Australia want the free
trade agreement and have lobbied for it.
In Australia, they are represented by the Australia/US Free Trade Agreement (AUSTA)
Business Group. It represents big
business interests. News Corporation,
Catepillar, IMB, Southcorp, Visy Industries and Kellogs.
At the US end there is the American-Australian free Trade Agreement
Coalition.
With 351 companies including: News
Corporation, Catepillar, IBM,Visy Industries
USA and Westfield. Some of the same
companies are lobbying the US and Australian governments at both ends of the
spectrum.
Is there any overlap
between the companies lobbying for the FTA and political donations past and
present? A search of corporate donations
on the AEC’s website, shows there is.
This is a worrying aspect. Has
there been any undue political influence from donors in relation to FTA
negotiations?
DFAT’S LOBBYISTS
The government
appointed Bergner, Bockorney, Castagnetti, Hawkins and Brian firm to assist in
preparations for negotiations of the FTA.
The other company that was appointed was Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw,
which
serves 65 of the Fortune 100 companies,
one out of every three U.S. banks.
Clients include Bank of America, Dow Chemical, General Electric, ICI,
Morgan Stanley, Nestl, Pfizer, Unilever and United Air Lines.
So, some of the
biggest US companies are represented by these consultancy firms, and our
government contracted them and paid them
A$614, 000 to help negotiate this agreement.
Did the taxpayer get value for money?
MEDIA
Australians wonder
why there has been little negative comment about the FTA from the commercial
media, you have to wonder when News Corporation is a member of the business groups
lobbying for the FTA at both ends.
A biased media is
abuse of your human rights. People are
up in arms when they see the human rights atrocities in Sudan, Rwanda and other
parts of the world. I say to you today,
there is little difference between the physical abuse being perpetrated in
Africa than the psychological abuse of the Australian people by a biased
media.
PRECAUTIONARY APPROACH
The Australian
government takes great precautions to protect the lives of our citizens. We have greater domestic security- as a
precaution. Airline marshals - as a precaution. Parliament has more security-
as a precaution. but it takes no precautions to protect their livelihoods.
The precautionary
approach does not apply to Free Trade.
With Free Trade we throw caution to the wind. There isn’t even a sunset clause in this
Agreement. It’s boots and all, regardless of the consequences. An agreement that is about exports - exporting Australian jobs and industry
overseas.
An agreement for the
US at the cost of Australian jobs, our cultural identity, our pharmaceutical
benefits system, our family farms our manufacturing industry and our small
businesses. An agreement inspired by big
business, put together by big business, administered by big business for the benefit
of big business.
RECOMMENDATIONS BY ONE NATION RELATING TO THE
AUSTRALIA- US FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
Chapter 1 Establishment of Free Trade Area
One Nation has considered this chapter and is particularly concerned by Article
1.2 : General Definitions which states in part:
For the purposes of this Agreement, unless
otherwise specified:
10. GATS means the General Agreement on
Trade in Services,contained in Annex 1B to the WTO Agreement;
11. GATT 1994 means the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994,contained in Annex 1A to the WTO
Agreement;
22. service supplied in the exercise of
governmental authority means any service which is supplied neither on a
commercial basis, nor in competition with one or more service suppliers;
Article 1.2 General Definitions
(22.) is identical to the definition in GATS. This definition in strictly legal
terminology can possibly be enforced by the US enabling access to our hospitals, education (including
teaching staff) , water, railways, law enforcement agencies (police), ownership
of our national highways as all of these fall within the definition of not
being exclusively provided by a government authority. Therefore,
services provided by the Australian governments such as hospitals, education,
transport are not excluded from this Agreement.
Recommendation 1.1
One Nation
recommends that all services which are supplied in the exercise of a
governmental authority
(i)
central,
regional or local governments and authorities; and
(ii)
non-governmental
bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by central, regional or local
governments or authorities;
are excluded from the Australia- US Free Trade Agreement.
Chapter 2 National Treatment
and Market Access for Goods
National treatment
is a fundamental principle of free trade. It requires that imports be afforded
'no less favourable' treatment than domestic goods.
Recommendation 2.1
One Nation calls for
specific exclusion of water from the National Treatment clause.
Recommendation 2.2
One Nation
recommends that National Treatment and Most Favoured Nation status only apply
for US companies that pay Company Tax in Australia.
Recommendation 2.3
Regarding Chapter 2, Article 2.3 Elimination of Customs Duties, One Nation recommends that no tariff reduction
shall apply until a public consultative and evaluation process is initiated to evaluate the economic, social,
cultural and environmental impacts of tariff reductions, including the
financial impacts on government appropriations and receipts due to loss of
employment and the cost shifting from taxpayers to social welfare
recipients.
Recommendation 2.4
One Nation
recommends that Article 2.3 (2) of the FTA
will not apply where the public consultative and evaluation process in
Recommendation 2.3 finds that the wellbeing of Australia’s social, economic,
cultural or environmental status would be jeopardised unless a protection
tariff is introduced.
Recommendation 2.5
Regarding Annex 2-C-
Pharmaceuticals 1. Agreed Principles,
One Nation recommends that the
following text be inserted:
(e) Nothing in this
Agreement will preclude Australia from
continuing, expanding, or altering measures necessary to ensure the
continuance of Australia’s pharmaceutical benefits scheme in its current form
including improved access to generic pharmaceuticals.
Chapter 3 Agriculture
Under this
agreement, all US agricultural imports into Australia - many of them grown on corporate farms which
are heavily subsidised by the US government - will gain immediate duty-free
access.
Recommendation 3.1
Regarding Article 3.1 : Multilateral Cooperation, One Nation
recommends that the following text be inserted
3.1.(3) Nothing in this Agreement will preclude
Australia from taking such actions or measures necessary to ensure the
viability of rural and regional economies and the viability of the family
farm.
Recommendation 3.2
One Nation
recommends that tariff rate quotas should be structured to provide more
protections for import-sensitive products.
Recommendation 3.3
One Nation
recommends a request-and-offer tariff negotiating approach, as opposed to across-the-board zero-to-zero
initiatives to ensure special protections for import-sensitive Australian
products.
Recommendation 3.4
One Nation
recommends exemptions from tariff phase-out should be negotiated for the most
highly sensitive Australian agricultural products.
Recommendation 3.5
One Nation
recommends improved Safeguard Measures to deliver temporary relief to injured,
import-sensitive Australian Industries and improved safeguard provisions to
provide relief against import surges. These
provisions must allow only a specified quantity of a selected product to enter
at zero duty rates. Higher tariffs should be automatically triggered when
imports reach a specified level or volume.
Recommendation 3.6
One Nation
recommends that Australia must have the ability to restrict imports for
temporary periods if, after investigations carried out by competent
authorities, it is established that imports are taking place in such increased
quantities (either absolute or in relation to domestic production so as to
cause serious injury to the domestic industry that produces like or directly
competitive products.
Recommendation 3.7
One Nation
recommends the implementation of a mechanism to cushion the effects of currency
devaluation.
Recommendation 3.8
The FTA fails to
establish a system for the prompt and effective resolution of private
commercial disputes in agricultural trade.
The absence of a formal system will become a problem for Australian
producers, who will need a viable commercial dispute settlement mechanism to
handle the unique marketing characteristics of perishable crops, particularly
tropical fruits.
The Agriculture
Committee, established under Article 3.2 is only established in very broad and
generalised terms.
One Nation
recommends that the Government clarify:
The membership of
the committee and that the committee comprises at least two:
-
Representatives
from family farming
-
Small business
(businesses with less than ten employees) and
-
Non government
Consumers representatives
-
Non government
Environmental experts including one in Genetic Modification
And that the
Government confirms:
-
when the
Committee will it be established
-
Whether
resolutions of the committee will be binding
Chapter 4 Textiles and Apparel
Recommendation 4.1
One Nation
recommends that nothing in this Agreement will preclude Australia from taking
such actions or measures necessary to ensure the viability of the Australian
textile, footwear, apparel and leather
industries.
Recommendation 4.2
One Nation
recommends that Australia retains the right to vary the rules of origin subject
to consultation.
Recommendation 4.3
One Nation
recommends that emergency action taken by Australia in relation to TCF
industries may be maintained by Australia for more than two years with
extensions and there be no limit after the commencement of the agreement under
which emergency action can commence.
Chapter 5- Rules of Origin
Recommendation 5.1
One Nation
recommends that Australia retains the right to vary the rules of origin subject
to consultation.
Chapter 7 Sanitary
and Phytosanitary Measures
Recommendation 7.1
Regarding article Article 7.2 : Scope and Coverage One Nation
recommends that the following text be inserted:
7.2 (3) Nothing in this
Agreement will preclude Australia from taking such actions or measures
necessary to ensure the protection of the environment, including assessing by
public consultation the economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts of
the adverse effects to the Australian environment or an imported product or
produce.
Chapter 10 Cross-Border
Trade in Services
Recommendation 10.1
Regarding Article 10.1
: Scope and Coverage, One Nation recommends that the following text be
added:
4 (f) All services
which are supplied in the exercise of a governmental authority
(i)
central,
regional or local governments and authorities;
and
(ii)
non-governmental
bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by central, regional or local
governments or authorities;
are excluded from
the Australia- US Free Trade Agreement.
Chapter 11 Investment
Recommendation 11.1
One Nation
recommends that nothing in this Agreement will preclude Australia from
requiring the senior management of an enterprise or a majority of a board of
directors be of a particular nationality.
Recommendation 11.2
One Nation
recommends that nothing in this Agreement will preclude Australia from
maintaining its national telecommunications body as a statutory body.
Chapter 14
Competition-Related Matters
Recommendation 14.1
One Nation
recommends that nothing in this Agreement will preclude Australia from
designating a monopoly or establishing,
maintaining or allow a monopoly including a government monopoly
enterprise.
Chapter 15 - Government Procurement
Recommendation 15.1
One Nation recommends that nothing
in this Agreement will preclude Australian governments
(i)
central,
regional or local governments and authorities;
and
(ii)
non-governmental
bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by central, regional or local
governments or authorities;
from positive discrimination in favour of a local provider.
Chapter 16 - Electronic
Commerce
Recommendation 16.1
One Nation recommends that othing in this Agreement will preclude Australia
from affording more favourable treatment on the basis of the nationality of the
author, performer, producer, developer, or distributor of the products that are
created, stored, transmitted within Australia’s territory.
Chapter 17 -
Intellectual Property Rights
Recommendation 17.1
One Nation recommends that nothing in this Agreement will preclude
Australia from legislating to ensure that no additional financial burden or
other restrictions as may be applicable to intellectual property rights is experienced by any person or entity
embarking upon scientific development, research or experimentation.
Recommendation 17.2
Regarding Article 17.3 copywrite, nothing in this Agreement will preclude Australia from ensuring its
sovereign right to install all of those measures that are appropriate for the
protection, preservation of our culture.
Recommendation 17.4
One Nation recommends that nothing in this agreement will preclude
ownership and decision-making concerning cultural life being majority controlled by Australian
interests.
Chapter 19- Environment
Recommendation 19.1
One Nation recommends that nothing in this Agreement will
require Australia to enter in, embark upon or be forced to participate in any
activity, material or otherwise, deterimental to the Australian environment.
Chapter 21 -
Institutional Arrangements and Dispute Settlement
Recommendation 20.1
One Nation recommends that the
dispute settlement panel may, not to the detriment of Australia, suspend any
benefit under the Agreement.
Chapter 22 - General
Provisions and Exceptions
Recommendation 22.1
One Nation recommends that the Agreement shall not afford to any entity
Australian or US, a general exeption in taxation that is less than the burden
of the equivalent Australian entity or person.
Chapter 23 - Final Provisions
Recommendation 23.1
One Nation
recommends that nothing in this Agreement will preclude Australia from
withdrawing from any or all provisions of the Agreement upon resolution of 50%
plus 1 of the Australian population eligible to participate in a referendum.
Recommendation 23.2
One Nation
recommends the inclusion of a sunset clause in the Text of the FTA and in all
related enabling legislation relating to the FTA that is passed by the Federal
Parliament, state or local governments.
Recommendation 23.3
One Nation
recommends that the Senate be granted a conscience vote on all enabling
legislation pertaining to the FTA.
Recommendation 23.4
One Nation
recommends adoption of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee
recommendations, Voting on trade The
General Agreement on Trade in Services
and an Australia-US Free Trade Agreement
in relation to the process for
parliamentary scrutiny and endorsement of proposed trade treaties:
(a)
Prior to making
offers for further market liberalisation under any WTO Agreements, or
commencing negotiations for bilateral or regional free trade agreements, the
government shall table in both Houses of parliament a document setting out its
priorities and objectives, including comprehensive information about the
economic, regional, social, cultural, regulatory and environmental impacts
which are expected to arise.
(b)
These documents
shall be referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence
and Trade for examination by public hearing and report to the parliament within
90 days.
(c)
Both Houses of
parliament will then consider the report of the Joint Standing Committee on
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, and vote on whether to endorse the
government’s
proposal or not.
(d)
Once parliament
has endorsed the proposal, negotiations may begin.
(e)
Once the
negotiation process is complete, the government shall then table in parliament
a package including the proposed treaty together with any legislation required
to implement the treaty domestically.
(f)
The treaty and
the implementing legislation are then voted on as a package, in an up or down vote,
i.e., on the basis that the package is either
accepted or rejected in its entirety.