Dear friends and colleagues, [Please circulate widely to Western Australian contacts] In about three months' time, the Australian Government will have nailed down its commitments to the WTO in Qatar, and will not have changed its misguided subservience to the GATS unless mainstream public opinion can be mobilised against it. In WA, GATS critics are still only a tiny force --and we need to reach out wider before it is too late. Hence, the step of publishing a prominent short statement in a newspaper advertisement. We have found that there are many individuals willing to donate $25 or more, and organisations including unions prepared to contribute $100 or more to associate with such a statement. Interested supporters can register their backing at http://members.iinet.net.au/~jenks/gatsAdvt.html To non-West-Australian recipients: Please take this message as 'For Your Information', --maybe consider initiating a similar project on your own turf. Best regards Brian Jenkins Hon sec, StopMAI Coalition, WA Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * * * * Proposed "GATS Attack" advertisement in The West Australian Concerned organisations and individuals are invited to subscribe to publication of the following statement as a paid advertisement in The West Australian newspaper, during October 2001. The West charges about $33 per column centimetre for casual advertising Monday to Friday and $50 in Saturday editions. Advantageous positioning is available for an extra loading charge. It is estimated that we need to raise at least $3000 for an effective advertisement. We are requesting organisations to consider donating $100 or more, and individuals $25 or more to be included in the GATS statement. In the event that a feasible amount is not subscribed in this way, StopMAI will return all the donations. [THE STATEMENT:] Protect Basic Social Services and Public Utilities Australia's health, education, energy distribution, water, and other basic human services must not become subject to international "free trade" rules. In particular, the World Trade Organisation's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) must not limit the ability of governments and people to regulate in order to protect the environment, health, safety and other public interests. Under the current GATS treaty which came into force in 1995, the principle of "progressive liberalisation" and the implications of foreign investment in service sectors has already led to severe problems. For instance, the contracting of essential services such as prisons and refugee detention camps to multinational corporations has resulted in bad performance, public cost burdens and depletion of our international reputation as a champion of human rights. The undersigned organisations and citizens call on the Federal Government and Opposition to press for total and permanent exclusion of public enterprises and services from the GATS, and to ensure that the WTO Dispute Resolution procedure cannot be used to force privatisation of such services, nor the payment of compensation to any party in respect to such exclusion. [Insert names of signatory organisations and persons] ----------------- TO SUBSCRIBE, please forward cash, cheque or money order to the Treasurer, StopMAI (WA) Coalition, 42 Central Avenue, Beaconsfield 6162. Payment should be made out to "StopMAI (GATS Attack)". Enquiries can be made to the secretary, Brian Jenkins, phone 9528 1864 or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] or you can signify interest from the website at http://members.iinet.net.au/~jenks/gatsAdvt.html * * * * * * [SUPPORTING FLYER] WHY BUY PRESS ADVERTISING SPACE TO PUBLICISE OUR CONCERN ABOUT THE GATS? Australia is a signatory to the 1995 General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) which is now being rewritten to remove as much national protection as possible. Corporate globalisation and the undemocratic effects of market fundamentalism and 'free' trade and investment agreements, are becoming major issues on the public agenda. Mass protests in both industrialised and developing nations are highlighting public concern and outrage at corporate greed and the Word Trade Organisation (WTO). The groundswell of community concern is yet to result in major policy changes by the major political parties. Both the current federal government and the ALP support a 'free' trade and deregulated investment regime. Australian trade negotiators at the upcoming November WTO meeting in Qatar - the first major WTO meeting since the failed talks at Seattle - are likely to push for a new round of trade agreements despite this growing concern. In the lead-up to the Qatar summit, international attention has turned to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) as the latest attempt to impose free market fundamentalism both here and abroad. GATS was initially established when the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was completed to form the WTO. It covers a wide range of services, including many in the public sector that affect the environment, culture, natural resources, drinking water, health care, education, social security, transportation services, postal delivery and a variety of municipal services. The present negotiations are attempting to extend the power of GATS to phase out all governmental barriers to international trade and commercial competition in the services sector. These new proposals include a 'necessity test', whereby governments would need to prove that any of their countries laws and regulations are not more trade restrictive than necessary, regardless of financial, environmental, social, technological or other considerations. GATS will make it very difficult if not impossible for governments to maintain or create workplace, environmental, health, consumer protection and other public interest standards. The new proposals would also enable the Agreement to restrict the use of government funds for public works, municipal services and social programs, requiring funds to be also directed to overseas-based service corporations. The new GATS would accelerate the process of providing corporate service providers with guaranteed and unlimited access to domestic markets in all sectors - including education, health and water. Health care is considered to be a seven trillion dollar ($AUD) annual market world-wide, with education targeted as a 4 trillion and water a 2 trillion dollar market. The wholesale privatisation and deregulation of these essential services has been a focus of concern by grass-roots citizens' groups throughout the world. Commitments made under GATS are essentially permanent, and have the potential to affect virtually every area of public life. Yet most public service providers in state and local governments in Western Australia would not have yet heard of this Agreement. This signifies the degree to which such important international trade negotiations are kept out of the public spotlight. StopMAI, the WA group which helped in 1998 to scuttle the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, plans to insert the following in The West Australian to alert the general public, and we invite you to contribute to the costs of the ad, as one way to express your concern over this latest threat to democracy, labour standards, the environment and social justice. [ADVERTISEMENT] Protect Basic Social Services and Public Utilities Australia's health, education, energy distribution, water, and other basic human services must not become subject to international "free trade" rules. In particular, the World Trade Organisation's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) must not limit the ability of governments and people to protect the environment, health, safety and other public interests. Under the current GATS treaty which came into force in 1995, the principle of "progressive liberalisation" and the implications of foreign investment in service sectors has already led to severe problems. For instance, the contracting of essential services such as prisons and refugee detention camps to multinational corporations has resulted in bad performance, public cost burdens and depletion of our international reputation as a champion of human rights. The undersigned organisations and citizens urge the Federal Government and Opposition to ensure the total and permanent exclusion of public enterprises and services from the GATS, and to ensure that the WTO Dispute Resolution procedure cannot be used to force privatisation of such services, nor payment of compensation to any party in respect to such exclusion. [Followed by names of contributing organisations and persons] [ADVT ENDS] ================ For more information on the GATS and how it affects you, contact StopMAI (address below) or visit websites: Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET) http://www.aftinet.org.au/ GATS Watch http://www.xs4all.nl/~ceo/gatswatch/ "Stop the GATS Attack Now!" www.tradewatch.org/gattwto/gathome.html British Columbia report 'GATS and Public Service Systems' (02 Apr 01) http://members.iinet.net.au/~jenks/GATS_BC2001.html StopMAI Coalition (WA) C/- 42 Central Avenue, Beaconsfield 6162 Phone 08 9528 1864, Fax 9529 1321 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://members.iinet.net.au/~jenks/fair.html WA Globalisation Forum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WAGF -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
