1. ABC Background Briefing Program on GATS, Sun June 23, 10 am
2. Government reply to AFTINET re publication of detailed GATS requests and responses
3. Global Unions Statement on the WTO GATS Negotiations
4. Water Matters campaign
5. Sydney Events:
   a) Jubilee Drop the Debt Event Thursday June 20th at 12.30 pm Martin Place
   b) Rally to Welcome Refugees, end mandatory detention, 11am Sun 23 June Circular Quay. Come by boat if you can

1. ABC Background Briefing Program on GATS, Sun June 23, 10 am

This program will examine the debates about the WTO negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). ABC Radio National, 10 am Sunday June 23, repeated on Tuesday June 25 at 7.30 pm. The transcript will be available after that on the ABC website www.abc.net.au

2. Government reply to AFTINET re publication of detailed GATS requests and responses

In April a leaked document revealed the specific requests made to Australia by the European Commission, representing 15 European countries, in the WTO Trade in Services (GATS) negotiations. These included demands that the government should remove all limits on foreign investment in Telstra, and that Australia Post and public water services should be opened up to competition and privatisation.

These demands confirmed our fears about the dangers of the GATS negotiations, which are taking place behind closed doors in Geneva.

As part of our campaign on GATS, AFTINET wrote to the Minister asking that the government make public all such requests and its responses to them. This would enable public debate about such proposals before the government signs a legally binding agreement.

This request for transparency and accountability is being made by fair trade activists to their governments around the world.

The response from Trade Minister Vaile was very qualified:

"With regard to the detail of our negotiating proposals, the government will release as much general information as practicable, including on the sectoral and country coverage and the nature of the commitments sought, where this would be consistent with any commercial confidentiality and does not compromise our negotiating interests."

AFTINET will continue to pursue the issue. If you have not yet sent a letter to the Minister, you can get a draft letter from our website here.

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3. Global Unions Statement on the WTO GATS Negotiations

The following statement was released this week by Global Unions, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) Global Unions includes the ICFTU and 11 global industry sector unions.

"Trade in services comprises a huge share of total world output and employs hundreds of millions of workers. A key objective of an increase in trade in services should be to provide benefits for the users of services and for those employed in this sector and indeed in other sectors as well. However, there are growing fears that the present negotiations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) could jeopardise access to vital public services and to other services of general interest for a large part of the world’s population. These services are too crucial to human well being to be subject to private sector competition under WTO disciplines. Global Unions, the WCL, and the ETUC are calling for action in the following areas:

1. All parties to the current GATS negotiations should make it absolutely clear that public services (above all, education, health and essential public utilities) including at sub-national levels of government, and socially beneficial service sector activities are not a subject for negotiation. This would mean that the parties would not call on other governments to open up those sectors. To guarantee that this will remain the case, the next WTO Conference should amend as necessary the terms of the GATS agreement to exclude formally such sectors from all further GATS negotiations.

2. WTO agreements should not undermine the ability of governments to enact domestic regulations, legislation and other measures to safeguard the public interest. However, under present WTO rules, such measures could be subject to challenge at the WTO if they are perceived as constituting a form of trade discrimination. Explicit reference to the primacy of social and environmental concerns over the principle of ‘free trade’ as well as a fundamental revision or even removal of the ‘necessity test’ on regulations is therefore required to ensure that all WTO members have complete freedom to execute domestic regulatory measures without the possibility of challenge through the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.

3. Countries must not be obliged to privatise public services against their will. Countries which make a commitment to open up their services sectors under the GATS must be able to take a future decision to increase the public sector role in these sectors, without any risk of a potential challenge through WTO disputes machinery or a need to offer some other services sector in compensation. The GATS agreement should include an explicit clause to exempt GATS commitments from the WTO disputes machinery in all cases where the public sector is concerned, so that foreign service suppliers would be unable to seek to use WTO disciplines as a tool to maintain market access. In addition, GATS negotiations should include the possibility of applying temporary safeguard measures to prevent a domestic industry from collapse (as already exists in GATT). More generally, the WTO ‘lock-in’ principle that has the effect of making commitments to open service markets ‘irreversible’ should not apply when the service market liberalisation has led to severe adverse socio-economic effects on the country and itspopulation.

4. Article I.3 (b) of GATS should be clarified to make it absolutely clear that ‘the exercise of governmental authority’ allows, without threat of legal challenge, WTO members to exclude competition from public services and services of general interest.

5. WTO members should not open up other public services to international trade liberalisation:- where that would create a problem of insecurity in supply of the services concerned; where it would negatively affect the supply of services to disadvantaged regions, sectors or groups of the population; or where it might reduce government funding for other services (such as by undermining the principle of cross-subsidisation).Members should not submit requests for market-opening where it would lead to socially undesirable effects of this nature.

6. Article XIX of the GATS requires, for each round of negotiations, 'an assessment of trade in services in overall terms and on a sectoral basis'. Such an assessment has never been carried out. A full assessment of the social, environmental and economic impact of the GATS negotiations should therefore be conducted urgently. The relevant specialised agencies of the United Nations, including the ILO, should be involved together with trade unions and other representativeorganisations.

7. Regarding 'Mode 3' of the GATS on ‘commercial presence’ (i.e.investment), GATS negotiations should:- ensure that the interests of developing countries are fully taken into account; omit any provisions that give investors the right to challenge tax and regulatory measures; exclude investor-to-state disputes provisions; include company taxation; allow for the imposition of performance requirements especially as regards labour market provisions; ensure that foreign investments (and incentives to attract them) do not undermine core labour standards or environmental protection; and include binding references to the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, and to the revised OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

8. With regard to "Mode 4" (i.e. temporary cross-border movement of natural persons), negotiations should ensure:- protection of migrant workers against all forms of discrimination, and of the remittance of their contributions to social security and insurance schemes; observance of core international labour standards and national labour law; respect for existing collective agreements covering the sectors concerned; andthe full involvement of the ILO.

9. Finally, GATS negotiations are too important to the public interest to take place under conditions of secrecy and without the involvement of parliamentarians and social partners. To ensure the maximum of transparency and democratic involvement, WTO members should publish after the submission deadline the access 'requests' they intend to make of other WTO members. Over the period leading up to March 2003, all WTO members should engage in a democratic process of dialogue concerning the 'offers' they intend to submit, and after that deadline all offer lists should be published."

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4. Water Matters campaign

"Over 1 billion people lack access to a safe water supply."
"Over 2.4 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation."
"Two out of three people will be living with water shortages by 2025."

One of the greatest problems facing the world today is water resources. With the increasing scarcity of water resources, water and sanitation related diseases are the largest cause of death in the world today, accounting for more than one-third of all deaths in developing countries (UN Commission on sustainable development). Urgent action is required to address the water crisis.

"We resolve to halve, by the year 2015…the proportion of people who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water." United Nations Millennium World Leaders Summit Declaration, September 2000.

Water Matters is campaigning to ensure that everyone in the world has access to safe water and adequate sanitation. As part of an international movement Water Matters is campaigning for all governments to provide enough resources so achieve the 2015 UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to halve the number of people without access to safe water. As well as funding, however, Water Matters is campaigning to ensure water needs are met in a sustainable way that fosters genuine participation and ownership by affected communities, respects the integrity of the environment, and fully respects the rights of the poor.

The Australian Government will be attending the 2002 Earth Summit in Johannesburg this August where world leaders will decide on future global development policies. Water Matters, supported by TEAR Australia, ACFOA and other agencies, want to ensure the Australian Government represents our concerns, and the rights of those in the world today without water. To this end we are lobbying the Australian Government to:

(1) To support in every way possible the 2015 UN target of halving the number of people without access to safe drinking water, and include a similar call for sanitation provision.

(2) To provide our fair share of funding for these goals: Currently Australia spends A$33 million on development funding for water and sanitation. These needs to be raised to A$100 million in line with ACFOA recommendations.

Please join in the Water Matters campaign by downloading the petition (www.watermattersaustralia.org) and getting as many signatures as possible. We will present this petition to the Australian Government before they go to the Earth Summit in August.

Please also find out more about the issue by downloading resources from our website, www.watermattersaustralia.org, or ordering the free Water Matters Action Resources Pack from Water Matters, PO Box 164, Blackburn VIC 3130, ph.03 9877 7444, toll free 1800 244 986, tearaust@tear.org.au. Or join up to get email updates at watermatters@tear.org.au

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5. Sydney Events:

a) Jubilee Drop the Debt Event Thursday June 20th at 12.30 pm Martin Place

MIME, MUSIC, SPEAKERS including Fr Brian Gore and Sr Susan Connolly, Will discuss the G8 Summit in Canada June 26 - 28 where the leaders of the rich world will wine and dine as they discuss the fate of the poor.

Initiatives taken so far will not free the poorest countries from unsustainable debt burdens. They need nothing less than 100% cancellation of debt owed to the IMF and World Bank.

For further information call Thea or Amanda on 9299-2215, or Thea on 0422-065-558.

b) Rally to Welcome Refugees, end mandatory detention, 11am Sun 23 June Circular Quay. Come by boat if you can

MC: Jaslyn Hall, Speakers include Thomas Keneally (author), Neville Roach (former chair Council for Multicultural Australia) Patrick Lee (Independent Education Union), Sheikh el Hilali (Mufti of Aust), Margaret Reynolds (National President UN Assoc of Australia) Nooria Wazifadost (Afghan refugee).

Organised by a wide range of community organisations demanding justice for asylum seekers, giving human compassion to detainees, offering alternative ways to the government. For info call: 0417 275 713 or 0408 057 779 or 0428 190 276 Email: email june23refugeecmtee@yahoo.com

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