Fed: ACTU tells government to wait on free trade negotiations

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Fed: ACTU tells government to wait on free trade negotiations

MELBOURNE, Dec 9 AAP - The ACTU has urged the Howard Government to delay response toworld trade negotiations which it says could lead to reduced national control of key industriesand public services.

The federal government is due to respond to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by March31 regarding ambit claims for foreign companies to take over Australian public and communityservices.

ACTU President Sharan Burrow today said Australia should postpone its response to theWTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), as any agreement could potentiallyundermine a range of services.

Health, housing, education, childcare, water, energy, postal and telecommunicationsservices could all be affected, she said.

Ms Burrow called on Prime Minister John Howard to end the secrecy surrounding the government'snegotiations on GATS, and to extend the March deadline to allow time for a debate in bothhouses of federal parliament.

"The GATS agreement is one of the most important economic and social decisions facingAustralia, but the federal government is refusing to provide details of what servicesand industries it is prepared to trade off," Ms Burrow said in a statement.

The GATS proposals also threatened local content rules for the Australian media, environmentalprotection regulations and foreign investment controls, Ms Burrow said.

"The GATS agreement will be binding on state and local government services but theyhave no say in the negotiations," she said.

"John Howard should abandon the March 31 deadline and commit to full public consultation,transparent access to all claims and a parliamentary debate in both houses before anynegotiations take place."

The Australian and New Zealand Unions Seminar on GATS is being held in Sydney today.

AAP db/ldj

KEYWORD: GATS ACTU