March 20, 2023: DFAT has called for submissions for the Government’s Southeast Asia strategy 2040.
Despite the long-term time frame of the strategy, there is no reference so far to inequality in the region or to human rights, labour rights or environmental standards.
February 6, 2022:This revision of the ASEAN agreement (AANZFTA) was begun under the Morrison coalition government and Labor Trade Minister Farrell announced on November 14 that in-principle agreement has been reached on most issues. The text will not be released until after it is finalised. The RCEP and CPTPP texts are being used as models. The provisions on corporate rights to sue governments (Investor-State Dispute Settlement or ISDS) arrangements are still being reviewed.
September 8, 2020: A study published by Friends of the Earth Australia in May exposed a serious level of pesticide residues on foods imported into Australia in the period 2017-19. The data came from Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service monthly Failing Food Reports.
The negotiations between ASEAN, New Zealand, and Australia for a Free Trade Agreement concluded at the ASEAN Economics Ministers Meeting on Closer Economic Relations in August 2008. The agreement was signed at the East Asia Summit in February 2009.
ASEAN is comprised of Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, the Phillipines, Brunei, Laos, and Vietnam.
The inclusion of Burma in the agreement amplifies AFTINET's concerns about the need to ensure that our trading practices strengthen human rights commitments, not undermine them.