Posted by WTO Watch Qld on July 25, 2001 at 18:25:35:
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
' A study by Macquarie University in Australia found that the entry of foreign banks
into the Australian market led to lower interest rates and banking charges.'
WTO Secretariat in 'GATS- Fact and Fiction'
1) COMING EVENTS
2) CALLS TO ACTION
a) Deadline for submissions re Australia's WTO policy
b) Inquiry into APRA's Supervision of the Banks
c) Submissions re Food Irradiation and GE Cotton
d) Senate Inquiry into ABC Board Appointment System
3) WTO Watch Qld 's reply to the WTO's Fact and Fiction re the Banks
4) GATS UPDATE
5) FOCUS ON GROWTH AND GLOBALISATION
a) The Scorecard on Globalisation 1980-2000
b) The Emperor has No Growth
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1) COMING EVENTS
CHOGM Action Network
Wednesday 25th July at 6pm
74 Astor Tce, Spring Hill
(Next meeting August 8th)
Premier Launches E-Mail People's Forum for CHOGM
"The People's Forum can be accessed through the link on the Queensland
Government's official CHOGM website - http://www.chogm2001.qld.gov.au
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Federation of Australian Business and Agriculture (FABA)
A Forum and the National Launch of this new organisation.
Riverside Receptions
50 Oxlade Dr., New Farm 31st July from 10.30am to 2.30pm.
Speakers at the Forum will include
Colin Teese, Former Secretary, Dept of trade
Martin Feil, Former Director Industries Assistance Commission and present Vice- President of the Society of Australian Industry and Employment
Jim Tyrell representing Industry and Small Business
John Cartwright, President Aust. Milk Producers Assn
Pat Byrne, NCC spokesman on Economics and Finance
John Olsen, State President Qld Commercial Fisherman's Assn
John Carter, National President Australian Beef Assn
Peter Rodeck, Director Environdata, representing manufacturing
Lunch will be available.
For further information Gavan Duffey Ph 3257 7277
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INVITATION to MDA Lunchtime Forum
Settlement of refugees - international, national and local perspectives
Fraser Power, MDA Treasurer, will give us a summary of the themes and issues
that arose from the First International Conference on the Integration and
Resettlement of Refugees. This conference was held in April in Stockholm,
Sweden. Fraser will outline some of the information gained from the
conference and we will jointly discuss how it may apply to those of us
working with refugees in Queensland.
Thursday, 26 July 2001 at 12.15 (for a 12.30 start) to 2pm at MDA, 2/47
Cordelia Street, South Brisbane RSVP: Phone 3844 6080 or email
ulrikez@mdabne.org.au. Please bring your own lunch. Tea and coffee will be
provided.
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NUCLEAR FREE NIGHBORHOOD CAMPAIGN LAUNCH-
EMERGENCY MEETING: STOP FOOD IRRADIATION
July 27, 2001 (Friday) at 7pm
Justice Products meeting space
192 Boundary Street
West End, Qld
contact: ENuFF/Stop Food Irradiation Alliance
Robin (07) 3358 3813 or 0411 11 8737
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Facing the future Reclaim democracy
The issues: Globalisation, economic and corporate colonisation, poverty, debt, unemployment and banks
You are invited to hear three prominent international speakers on the same platform
7pm Tuesday, August 14 All Hallows Convent Ann Street, Fortitude Valley
From the UK: Michael Rowbotham
From New Zealand: deputy leader of the Democrats, Stephnie de Ruyter to
From the Philippines: outspoken Australian Catholic priest who was jailed on trumped up murder charges for speaking out against former president
Sponsored by the Australian Coalition for Economic Justice
Admission at door: waged $20.00; unwaged $10.00
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*** Pollie Watch ***
With the federal election coming up fast the PollieWatch network is one of
the best ways that you can help ensure that important issues such as
appropriate development, social justice, human rights, poverty alleviation,
environmental justice and others are taken seriously by the major parties.
PollieWatchers get regular quarterly briefing papers from OCAA and are
encouraged to visit their local politicians and write letters on the issues
these raise. We will shortly be running lobbying and activism workshops
for PollieWatchers in QLD to help you make the maximum impact when dealing
with your local politician.
If you'd like to join the PollieWatch network and help make sure our
Pollies are doing the right thing on development, aid, environment and
human rights issues - get in touch with Tom at the QLD office.
tomw@caa.org.au or call (07) 3857 6888 or you can sign up on our website:
http://www.caa.org.au/campaigns/network.html
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2) CALLS TO ACTION
a) The deadline for written submissions on WTO policy has been extended to 1 August
Submissions should be sent by mail fax or email to:
Trade Policy Section
Trade Negotiations Division
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
R G Casey Building
BARTON ACT 0221
Facsimile 02 / 6261 3514
E-mail address trade.consult@dfat.gov.au (Microsoft Word compatible format).
(If you haven't put in your submission, you are running out of time. Further info
http://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/negotiations/consultations_australians.html#pubcon
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b) Inquiry into Banking Supervision
The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Public Administration invites you to have your say on the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's supervision of banking operations.
Further info
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/efpa/
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c) Public comment invited on food irradiation and genetically modified insect protected cotton
The Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) today called for a second round of public consultation on an application from an Australian company, Steritech Pty Ltd, to irradiate herbs, spices, herbal infusions, peanuts, almond, cashews and pistachio nuts. ANZFA also sought comment on an application to approve an insect protected cotton as a genetically modified food.
www.anzfa.gov.au
link (copy/paste) below on home page
select the 3rd link at the bottom: Application A413: Irradiation of herbs and spices, nuts, seeds and teas.
Updates on:
http://communitycauldron.com
link: food irradiation
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d) INQUIRY INTO ABC BOARD APPOINTMENT SYSTEM
There is a Senate inquiry underway into the ‘Methods of appointment to the ABC Board … that would enhance public confidence in the independence and representativeness of the ABC as the national broadcaster’. Submissions from the public are being welcomed. This is a perfect opportunity to send a letter and to know that it will be counted. Just a simple expression of concern about the importance of having a management board free of a political agenda will do. On the other hand, if you want to tell them how you think this might be best achieved, go for it! Letters received before 9th August are best, but anything received up until the reporting date of 25th September will still be counted. Please participate - such opportunities are rare indeed. Write to:
The Secretary,
Senate Environment, Communications, Info Tech & the Arts References Committee,
S157, Parliament House,
Canberra ACT 2600.Email submissions: ecita.sen@aph.gov.auAdditional information about the inquiry: www.aph.gov.au/senate_environment or phone 02 6277 3526
The present system of appointments to the ABC Board is clearly unsatisfactory, in that it allows any government, so-intentioned, to stack the board with its allies. It is hard for governments to resist this temptation! For the good of all Australians, our national broadcaster must be independent of government and commercial influence. What we need is a new system which ensures the board members are appointed on the basis of merit and commitment to independent and comprehensive national
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3) In mid-March 2001, the WTO Secretariat released a paper entitled GATS -- Fact and Fiction in an attempt to pre-empt a meeting and a news conference of a global network of civil society groups expressing concern about the GATS and its impact on social, environmental and economic regulatory policies. The Secretariat's paper is also part of larger, increasingly hostile campaign by some governmental and WTO officials and business leaders aimed at the growing critique of current GATS negotiations voiced by civil society groups around the world. Fact and Fiction deals with the worries of civil society in the usual way, by a vigorous massaging of the truth, and included in the document was the following amazing statement:
. "A study by Macquarie University in Australia found that the entry of foreign banks into the Australian market led to lower interest rates and banking charges"
The following is WTO Watch Qld's response.
Australians are, by and large, a sports loving nation. So imagine our delight when the deregulation of the banking sector in 1984 gave us the opportunity to invent a completely new sport.
This new sport is called ‘bank bashing’ and it has proved so popular that it now has a higher participation rate than any other sport in Australia.
The beauty of bank bashing is that anyone can play. It doesn’t matter whether you are old or young, fit or unfit---this is a sport for everyone.
Advanced age is, in fact, a positive advantage when it comes to bank bashing. Older people, you see, can remember the days when banks actually gave their customers a service, when bank branches were numerous and easily accessible, and bank managers were respected members of the community.
The new sport can be played anywhere, but probably the most popular time to play is when you are waiting in a queue at the bank. There is usually plenty of time to play the game then because so many staff have been sacked that the queues often stretch right out the door.
Unfortunately rural people are at a disadvantage here because they so often lack a suitable venue to play the game. Since many country towns no longer have a bank and the distances in this country are too vast to allow rural people to travel to find a bank, rural people must make do with bank bashing in the privacy of their own homes. However, I am delighted to report that, despite the lack of suitable venues, they play the game with enormous enthusiasm and great skill.
There are no firm rules about how many people are on a team. It is best if there are at least two, though it is quite possible and indeed not unusual to see someone bank bashing in a solitary state. This is most common at the time when the monthly bank statement arrives in the letter box and the solitary bank basher realises how enormous the bank charges are for that month.
Scoring is quite simple. A perfect score is obtained when the following are all mentioned in one 15 minute bout: closure of bank branches, sacking of staff, executive salaries, excessive profits, escalating bank charges, monetary inducements to talk-back radio hosts for favourable publicity, lack of service, and lack of social conscience. Perfect scores are not uncommon.
Bonus points are awarded when the player can quote the exact figure for bank charges paid by Australians, the exact figure for the annual profits made by the banks and can demonstrate knowledge of the fact that Australian bank charges are the highest in the world.
Disqualification occurs when a player says something favourable about a bank. Disqualification is extremely rare.
The game has had an enormous boost in its popularity recently because the government has joined in on the side of the players. They have provided lots of ammunition by making statements such as ‘banks should have a social conscience’ and ‘banks have a duty to provide a service to all members of the community.’ And their action in setting up an inquiry into the ‘cash for comment’ affair really gave the sport a boost.
However, just lately, they may have gone too far by threatening to re-regulate the banks. Re-regulation would mean the death of this popular new sport.
Participants are not too worried, however, because the banks are fighting back with all sorts of threats including cancelling low deposit accounts, and mentioning this in a bout should be good for bonus points.
In the words of Roy and HG, it is a case of ‘when too much sport is barely enough.’
Terrie Templeton WTO Watch Qld
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4) GATS UPDATE
Regulating Governments, Not Corporations
Article VI of GATS covers domestic regulation. Its aim is to encompass any regulation that affects services but which is not covered by other GATS obligations.
Its fourth clause aims to ensure that "qualification requirements and procedures, technical standards and licensing requirements do not constitute unnecessary barriers to trade in services".
Although undefined in GATS, "technical standards" could encompass most types of government control. The WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, for instance, defines them as:
"product characteristics or their related processes and production methods, including the applicable administrative provisions, with which compliance is mandatory".
In the context of services, "technical standards" could apply to the processes and methods of producing services, including administration. This could encompass their funding and delivery, including reimbursement under mandatory (public or private) insurance schemes.
A wide swathe of government regulations concerning environmental protection, consumer protection and industrial policy would seem to be covered by this fourth clause: legislation accrediting professionals as competent to practise; awarding licences to television or radio stations; giving university status to academic institutions; licensing hospitals; and granting waste disposal permits.
So that these national requirements and standards do not constitute an "unnecessary barrier" to trade in services, Article VI.4 states that they should be "not more burdensome than necessary" and should not restrict the supply of the service. But what does "burdensome" mean? How would restriction be determined? In case of a dispute between countries, the clause does not provide a clear legal formula that a WTO dispute panel could refer to.
A Working Party on Domestic Regulation – one of the three sub-groups of the Council for Trade in Services (the body within the WTO that oversees GATS) – has been drawn up to discuss "reform" of domestic regulation. This involves drafting a "necessity test" – a legal formula which could be used "to assess the level of trade-restrictiveness of a measure".
If proposals for this test are adopted, a government challenged by another through the WTO would first have to show that a disputed regulation met a "legitimate objective" – and the WTO would determine what counted as "legitimate".
Then, to clarify "burdensome" and "restrictive" as applied to the means of achieving that objective, the Working Party has considered importing into Article VI.4 the definition of "least burdensome" from a GATS Annex on Telecommunications: "pro-competitive".
The European Union has gone further and identified "anti-competitive practices", including cross-subsidising by monopoly providers of network infrastructure and services. It argues that this practice restricts competing suppliers from being able to provide services in a market. Instead, it maintains that charges for each part of a service should be at:
"cost-oriented rates that are transparent, reasonable, having regard to economic feasibility, and sufficiently unbundled so that the supplier need not pay for network components or facilities that it does not require for the service to be provided".
Governments that currently use non-market mechanisms, such as risk pooling, social insurance funds, block contracts and cross-subsidising, to deliver public services to as much of their population as possible could find such practices challenged as anti-competitive (see p.19).
The European Union has also suggested that a measure should not be considered trade-restrictive if it is "proportionate" to the objective pursued. But what might be considered proportionate, reasonable or rational would be a matter of judgement, reflecting the values of those with decision-making power.
Worse, Article VI.4 could be