*Ø* Blogmanac | Watching the juggernaut: Australia
I am an anti-imperialist. I am opposed to having the eagle put its talons on any other land.
Mark Twain
Big drug corps are trying to do to Oz what they've done to poor countries for years
The big US pharmaceuticals firms are using Australia's public medicine supply scheme for target practice, writes David Fickling
"If you are reading this in the UK, Australia, Canada or Maine, you may be the victim of a conspiracy you have scarcely guessed at.
"Your government is preventing you from getting access to life-saving drugs. Diabolically, it is insisting that you only receive the medication you need if pharmaceutical companies give subsidies to the rich.
"Welcome to the world as seen through the eyes of big drugs firms. Public pharmaceuticals programmes, by which governments drive down prescription costs by bulk-buying common medicines, are a mainstay of public health systems across the developed world. To the lunatic fringe of the pharmaceuticals lobby, they are a menace: patients under such programmes may be healthier and financially better off but (the argument goes), intangibly, they are less free.
"Top of the liberation hit-list at the moment is Australia, which is embarking on the final round of free trade negotiations with the US in Washington this week. The country's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is likely to become a key target of US trade negotiators over the next fortnight.
"Drugs companies contributed ?10m to George Bush's election campaign in 2000 and are determined to get their money's worth out of any free trade agreement. The grumbles of the drugs and farming lobbies have already delayed the signing of the deal, which President Bush had previously scheduled for before Christmas.
"US companies' principal lobbyist, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (Phrma), views the trade talks as a vital opportunity to tackle what it regards as Australian protectionism.
"Phrma's version of capitalism is bizarre. Public pharmaceuticals programmes are to drugs as Wal-Mart is to kitchenware and camping gear: they push down prices by buying in volumes that none of their competitors can match. There are no laws in Australia banning non-PBS medicines from the market, and no tariffs are imposed on drugs that are not listed.
"Nonetheless, Phrma argues that the very existence of a government agency whose purpose is to depress the prices of drugs is anti-competitive. Before a drug is listed on the PBS, its worth must first be evaluated by committee, using criteria of provable effectiveness, value and safety; all of which means that prescribing doctors are unable to take other considerations into account - say, whether the manufacturer has bought them a golf club membership.
"Australia's conservative Coalition government is not widely trusted on public health issues, but ministers have been keen to proclaim their commitment to the PBS. Interviewed on ABC radio last week, the prime minister, John Howard, stressed that certain issues would not be up for negotiation: any deal, he explained, 'means the protection of the essentials of things like the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme'.
"Mr Howard's use of language is famously circumspect, and it is always worth thinking hard about his choice of words. Here it is important to note that he is not talking about protecting the scheme as a whole, only certain undefined 'essentials' ...
Source: The Guardian (UK)
Opposition to US-Australia Trade Agreement
The Australia US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) has been negotiated behind closed doors since March 2003. Read How will a USA-Aus Free Trade Agreement Affect You?. A number of large US Environmental organisations have said the AUSFTA may undermine environmental protection initiatives within Australian and U.S jurisdictions. Their concerns are echoed by the Australian Conservation Foundation and independent research: a report released in October by Ozprospect.org which argues that a free trade agreement with the United States will generate significant and to date unreported negative environment impacts, including an increase in Australian water use by up to 1.3 trillion litres per year ? almost as much as the entire national domestic water use. (Report in PDF Format).
According to Health and Welfare organisations Medicines are still threatened. Further, the Australia Institute released a report (PDF)in December discussing the US's targeting of Australia's intellectual property laws as part of the USFTA, and the impact this would have on pharmaceutical prices.
Source: Indymedia Melbourne, Australia
One lump, or two?
US takes hard line on Australian sugar
"The United States has asked Australia to accept a free trade agreement which does not include any increase in access for Australian sugar.
"A US trade official is being quoted as saying Bush administration negotiators have asked Australian negotiators to settle for a free trade agreement which does not open the US market to any more Australian sugar.
"But the official denied US trade representative Robert Zoellick had told a North Dakota radio station that sugar has been taken off the table.
"Dozens of Australian negotiators are in Washington this week trying to hammer out a free trade deal.
"The hard line US position on sugar is being seen as a major concession by the Bush administration to the powerful sugar beet and sugar cane industry in the US ..."
Source: ABC Australia
What can you do?
- Go to http://www.nofta.org and register your vote against the FTA (IT ONLY TAKES A MINUTE!) – please only vote once!
- Go to http://www.tradewatchoz.org for more information and form letters you can send to key politicians.
- Send a short letter/email (that’s all that’s needed!) to the Prime Minister, the Trade Minister Mark Vaile, the shadow trade minister Stephen Conroy or your member of Parliament. You can use the points listed above. Be sure to include your full name and address.
- Speak to family and friends about this issue, it has got very little and superficial coverage in the media, and the government is trying to keep all the details secret.
- Get involved in the campaign!
Pip Wilson posted item above at 1:28 PM | Permalink
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home