The Hon Mark Vaile
Minister for Trade
Parliament House
Canberra
Mark.Vaile.MP@aph.gov.au
Fax: 02 62734128
Dear Minister Vaile
Australia – China Free Trade Agreement
I am very concerned that the Government has announced the start of negotiations for a
China Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This decision was made before the release of the
Feasibility Study and without sufficient time for public debate about the impacts of the
FTA on communities and on the environment in Australia and in China. Decisions about trade
agreements are more than questions of economics and deserve full public and parliamentary
debate.
I am concerned about the lack of workers’ rights and environmental standards in
China. In China’s Export Processing Zones, real wages have fallen as factories
compete for contracts from transnational corporations. Industrial waste from these
factories is a problem for communities and for the environment. The low prices of many of
China’s manufactured exports are based on China’s failure to implement its own
labour laws and environmental standards and failure to abide by fundamental workers’
rights, as defined by the International Labour Organisation.
I am also concerned about the impact of the FTA on communities in Australia. The China
FTA will lead to job losses in industries such as clothing, automobile and horticulture.
Many of these jobs are in regional areas, where there is already high unemployment and
little choice of alternative employment.
Free trade agreements without labour and environmental standards encourage a global
race to the bottom on these standards. I support:
- Implementation by both countries of international standards on workers’ rights and
environmental sustainability.
- Full public and parliamentary debate on the social and environmental impacts of the FTA
before any agreement is signed.
- Effective and transparent community consultation, with sufficient time frames to allow
for informed public debate.
Yours sincerely,
