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The Alliance to Expose GATS (AEG) along with other community groups is
calling for a senate inquiry into the GATS. The following letter was sent in July to members of the
Australian Senate
Dear Senator, RE: The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and negotiations leading to the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference in Mexico 2003. The Doctors Reform Society (DRS) has grave concerns about the threat of the GATS to public health, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and Medicare. Along with other community groups, the DRS is calling for a Senate Inquiry into the implications for Australia of the GATS. The DRS calls for openness, transparency and accountability in the negotiations leading to the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference. We believe the government must make public all relevant information on the current negotiations, including details of specific commitments both sought by and sought from Australia. The Federal Government must submit all policies on GATS to full parliamentary debate and vote before any more commitments are made. Australian service sectors are already automatically committed to the full range of general obligations of the GATS. While Article 1.3 (b) of the GATS states services supplied in the exercise of government authority are exempt from GATS obligations, 1.3 (c) states "a 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. This clearly opens most public services including healthcare to the provisions of the GATS. The WTO itself has stated: 39. The hospital sector in many countries, however, is made up of government- and privately- owned entities which both operate on a commercial basis, charging the patient or his insurance for the treatment provided. Supplementary subsidies may be granted for social, regional and similar policy purposes. It seems unrealistic in such cases to argue for continued application of Article 1:3 and/or maintain that no competitive relationship exists between the two groups of suppliers or services. In scheduled sectors, this suggests that subsidies and any similar economic benefits conferred on one group would be subject to the national treatment obligation under Article XVII. (WTO, Council for Trade in Services, Health and Social Services: Background Note by the Secretariat, S/C/W/50 18 September 1998: 11). Australia's GATS commitments regarding health have neither been clearly defined nor adequately debated. It is alarming that the Australian government and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade do not consider Australia's current specific commitment to 'liberalise' dental services to be a healthcare commitment. Dental services are found in the GATS in the 'Business' section under 'Professional Services' rather than within 'Health Related and Social Services' and this has allowed governments to claim they have not yet signed off important health services. This is an example of how commitments can slip through without the consequences being addressed. Community interests and concerns need to be taken into account as there will be profound long-lasting consequences for Australian society. The DRS requests senators to support a Senate Inquiry and that details of requests Australia has lodged and requests made of Australia be made public. Yours sincerely,
Dr Tracy Schrader
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Doctors Reform Society of Australia home page]
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