Indonesia/Australia FTA

June 8, 2020 The AFTINET submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Trea

October 31, 2019: A new article by Richard Denniss, chief economist at The Australia Institute, argues against Australia signing free trade agreements that undermine our sovereignty. Denniss calls out the hypocrisy of the Morrison government that has ratcheted up populist rhetoric while signing up to agreements that grant excessive rights to international investors at the expense of the Australian community.

October 21, 2019:  Weekend media reported that union leaders have strongly criticised the ALP decision to approve the enabling legislation for the Indonesia, Hong Kong and Peru agreements.

October 17, 2019: Media Release “Labor has decided to approve the enabling legislation for the Indonesia, Hong Kong and Peru agreements despite the fact that they contain damaging provisions that are contrary Labor policies, in return for some fairly weak assurances from the government that may not be delivered,” AFTINET Convener Dr Patricia Ranald said today.

October 9, 2019: Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) polling in the seats of Bass, Brand, Corio, Hunter and Rankin reveals 75 - 80 per cent of voters oppose trade agreements that allow additional work visas without first testing if local workers can fill available jobs and that include Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions that give corporations the right to sue governments for policy decisions that impact on their profit.

October 8, 2019: AFTINET and Indonesia for Global Justice have come together to oppose the inclusion of investor rights to sue governments in the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

September 26, 2019: The Canberra Times and SBS news have reported that the Australia-Indonesia trade deal could face Senate opposition after key cross benchers, including the Greens, Centre Alliance and One Nation expressed concerns about aspects of the deal, including provisions for an additional 5000 temporary seasonal fruit and vegetable pickers each year who are vulnerable to wage theft and other forms of exploitation.

August 26, 2019: Read AFTINET's  submissions to the JSCOT inquiry into the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership here and the trade and investment agreements with Hong Kong here.

Monday March 25, 2019: The Australian reports that Federal Labor Trade Spokesperson Jason Clare has confirmed that Labor in government would seek to remove Investor-State Dispute Settlement clauses from the Peru and Indonesia FTAs, which the Morrison government has signed but not ratified.