Giving tyrants a helping hand in tough times
Australia and New Zealand have joined together to help fund the Burmese junta, Brunei’s absolute monarchy, Malaysia’s suppression of democracy, Singapore’s one party state, Thailand’s illegitimate government, and the Vietnamese and Laotian Communist Parties through the new free trade agreement with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
This is the first Free Trade Agreement Australia has signed since the onset of the global financial crisis and continues the government’s commitment to ignoring human rights abuses in other major trading partners like China and countries in the Middle East.
It seems despite all the talk coming out of the G20 meeting London and the hot air coming out of Rudd last week when he talked about how people had been worshiping the false god of “unfettered free markets”, (speak for yourself Kev) the old order isn’t quite dead, it’s just recapitalising.
“It powerfully demonstrates Australia’s – and the region’s – strong commitment to opening up markets in the face of this crisis.” Australia's Trade Minister Simon Crean said in his media release.
“Australian primary producers are now being guaranteed greater access to developing South East Asian markets, many of which have a growing appetite for high quality Australian produce,” Mr Crean said.
Like all free trade agreements there will be winners and losers. Winners will be sweatshop owners in places like Indonesia and Cambodia making cheap Nikes and electrical goods who of course are world-renowned for fair treatment of their workers, high wages and their strong support for unions and Occupational Health and Safety practices. Kleptocratic officials and politicians also stand to do well through growth in corporate tax revenues and kickbacks paid to ensure ideas of changing the system remain just that.
Not so lucky are the South East Asian small farmers, workers in general and migrant workers in particular who now will have to deal with a flood of imports and more pressure to keep wages low and conditions shitty. Australian and New Zealand workers can look forward to more outsourcing of their jobs as employers look to undercut wages and working conditions at home by moving to countries with cheaper labour and more…accommodating labour laws like Pacific Brands (makers of some of best known Aussie clothing brands) did a couple of weeks ago.
The Textile Clothing & Footwear Union of Australia is shocked that the Australian Government would encourage open trade with the Burmese regime. National Secretary Michele O’Neil deplored this policy stating that it sent a bad message to a repressive regime responsible for numerous grave human and labour rights violations. “How can you have so called free trade with a repressive regime?”
Aung San Suu Kyi has long called for a boycott of Burma.
“I am proud of this agreement, as it represents a historic milestone for Australian trade negotiations,” Mr Crean tells us.
Historic indeed.
This is the first Free Trade Agreement Australia has signed since the onset of the global financial crisis and continues the government’s commitment to ignoring human rights abuses in other major trading partners like China and countries in the Middle East.
It seems despite all the talk coming out of the G20 meeting London and the hot air coming out of Rudd last week when he talked about how people had been worshiping the false god of “unfettered free markets”, (speak for yourself Kev) the old order isn’t quite dead, it’s just recapitalising.
“It powerfully demonstrates Australia’s – and the region’s – strong commitment to opening up markets in the face of this crisis.” Australia's Trade Minister Simon Crean said in his media release.
“Australian primary producers are now being guaranteed greater access to developing South East Asian markets, many of which have a growing appetite for high quality Australian produce,” Mr Crean said.
Like all free trade agreements there will be winners and losers. Winners will be sweatshop owners in places like Indonesia and Cambodia making cheap Nikes and electrical goods who of course are world-renowned for fair treatment of their workers, high wages and their strong support for unions and Occupational Health and Safety practices. Kleptocratic officials and politicians also stand to do well through growth in corporate tax revenues and kickbacks paid to ensure ideas of changing the system remain just that.
Not so lucky are the South East Asian small farmers, workers in general and migrant workers in particular who now will have to deal with a flood of imports and more pressure to keep wages low and conditions shitty. Australian and New Zealand workers can look forward to more outsourcing of their jobs as employers look to undercut wages and working conditions at home by moving to countries with cheaper labour and more…accommodating labour laws like Pacific Brands (makers of some of best known Aussie clothing brands) did a couple of weeks ago.
The Textile Clothing & Footwear Union of Australia is shocked that the Australian Government would encourage open trade with the Burmese regime. National Secretary Michele O’Neil deplored this policy stating that it sent a bad message to a repressive regime responsible for numerous grave human and labour rights violations. “How can you have so called free trade with a repressive regime?”
Aung San Suu Kyi has long called for a boycott of Burma.
“I am proud of this agreement, as it represents a historic milestone for Australian trade negotiations,” Mr Crean tells us.
Historic indeed.