Senator Anning attacks ALP/Liberal nexus over TPP support

How Whitlam paved the way to destroy manufacturing by signing Lima Declaration 1975

Senator ANNING (Queensland): I rise today to oppose and condemn the Customs Amendment (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation) Bill 2018 and related bills, that enable what is commonly called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. This agreement is bad for Aussie business and bad for Aussie workers and families. Because of this, I foreshadow that I will be moving a second reading amendment to the bill.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement might be great for Vietnam, the Philippines and other low-wage Third World economies, but it is very bad for Australia. This agreement is but the latest in a long line of deals with foreign countries that give away Aussie jobs and industry to supposedly disadvantaged foreign nations, beginning with Whitlam, who put a wrecking ball through Australian industry with his unilateral tariff cuts. Subsequent Liberal and Labor governments have all been infatuated with the internationalist vision of trade. In 1975, the Whitlam government signed the United Nations Lima Declaration, through which the Australian government sold out Australian industries and workers by specifically agreeing to transfer manufacturing to Third World countries, supposedly to help them develop. Almost every move to liberalise trade since that day has led to a net transfer of jobs and industry away from Australia and the current TPP is just the latest outrageous example. Giant transnational corporations love the Lima agreement, of course, since taking jobs away from decently-paid Aussie workers and instead employing Third World semi-slaves made them a fortune. Perhaps that is the reason why both Labor and the Liberals agree on these kinds of trade deals. The Left think that our national prosperity is something to apologise for and that we have an unending obligation to subsidise foreigners. In practice, if not intent, the capitalist globalists agree with them. Transnational corporations don’t care about the best interests of Australians, only their own profits, and profits are larger if you employ Third Worlders on slave wages than if you employ Aussies on decent award wages.

Like all post-Lima declaration trade deals, the TPP will allow foreign multinationals the right to dictate terms to our government regarding rules and regulations. The TPP will see Australia’s sovereignty further eroded. This agreement will allow cheap foreign goods from countries with historically bad safety regulations to flood the Australian market. The TPP will see food from countries with almost non-existent workplace health and safety standards enter Australia—just like the Asian white spot disease, which was introduced and devastated our prawn sector. The TPP will see hardworking Australians fighting against workers whose wages would be considered slavery in Australia. Their wages are so low that they struggle to afford food, shelter or clothing. To protect our sovereignty, food security, wages and work, the TPP agreement must be rejected.

Australia was once a nation of doers, hard workers and builders. We tamed the harsh, dry land of the outback. We built massive infrastructure projects, like the Snowy scheme. Australia was the land of the worker and the farmer. Now, ever since the Whitlam era, we have seen a Liberal-Labor consensus in favour of globalism, foreign ownership, exporting jobs and importing cheap foreign labour. This has resulted in Australia becoming the land of unemployed university graduates and foreign workers. Our major parties have allowed Australia to become a nation without work, with our remaining major industries, mining and hospitality, digging things up and selling them to foreigners, and serving dinner and drinks to our foreign overlords. Our once prosperous economy has been raided and pillaged by multinational corporations. That is exactly what Australia has seen with these global trade agreements.

We have seen the demand for labour drop as factories move overseas, while the major parties allow foreign workers to flood the country. This has caused the devastating problems of wage stagnation and the casualisation of our workforce. Without a proper wage and stable, full-time work, how can Australians provide for their families? Before Whitlam, 70 per cent of the Australian workforce were employed in decent, well-paid jobs in manufacturing. Now there are barely any. One-sided trade deals since the Lima declaration, like the TPP, have seen almost all of our manufacturing closed down. The Liberal-Labor consensus is happy to see the whitegoods industry gone, the textile industry gone, the glass industry gone, the steel industry gone and, of course, the Aussie motor industry gone. Whatever we have left will be destroyed by the TPP.

The first focus of any Australian government should be the long-term security and prosperity of Australian families and Australia. Families are only strong when there is stable, well-paying, full-time work. A nation is only strong when families are thriving. My amendment goes to the heart of this issue. My amendment will provide that further consideration of the bill will be postponed until the TPP agreement is renegotiated to exclude countries with low wage levels and countries that provide direct or indirect subsidies for key products. My amendment will protect the jobs and conditions of Aussie workers. I ask my Senate colleagues to think again about this UN-inspired globalist compact, voting for my amendment or rejecting these bills if my amendment is unsuccessful.

Chamber Senate on 15/10/2018 Item BILLS – Customs Amendment (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation) Bill 2018, Customs Tariff Amendment (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation) Bill 2018 – Second Reading Speaker: Anning, Sen Fraser Transcript and Image from Parliament of Australia Website 2018