STOP MAI

MEDIA RELEASE -for immediate release, 1 July, 1998 Authorised by the STOP-MAI Campaign Coalition (WA) Website http://members.iinet.net.au/~jenks/fair.html Affiliated with the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTInet) and with the World Social Forum (WSF)

MAI treaty ‘makes Government lie
about exceptions’

Allowance for country-specific exceptions for signatories of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment was fraudulent and permitted governments to lie to their citizens about the OECD treaty’s real impact, a Perth public meeting was told on 30 June, 1998.

The speaker, WA Trades and Labour Council secretary Tony Cooke, was one of a panel of four who addressed the audience of 200 at the Leederville meeting, held by Stop MAI a national coalition seeking to prevent Australia’s participation.

Other speakers were barrister and open-government campaigner Bevan Lawrence, journalist and radio current affairs presenter Liam Bartlett and former WA senator Jean Jenkins. All spoke scathingly of the Federal Government’s stance on MAI.

RESOLUTION

The following resolution was carried unanimously at the end of the meeting:

That this meeting

Endorses and commends the Stop MAI (WA) Campaign Coalition for alerting the community to potential problems in the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment; and calls on the Parliaments and Governments of Western Australia and the Commonwealth—

1. to do all in their power to prevent Australia's participation in the Agreement and to persuade other OECD nations to withhold their support from it and from any similar Agreement which may be introduced in another forum;
2. to uphold and acknowledge the sovereignty of the Australian people over its governments and parliaments at all times, and to desist from any actions which have the effect of transferring delegated powers to any foreign government, corporation or agency unless such actions are authorised before the fact by a national Referendum; and
3. to pursue, through OECD forums and domestic legislation, revised Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises to ensure that operations of such enterprises in Australia shall result in a maximum of benefit to Australia, including the honest fulfilment of tax liabilities.

ends #6

NOTE: See a detailed account at http://members.iinet.net.au/~jenks/stopmai03.html

PHONE CONTACTS: Brian Jenkins +61 8 9528 1864; Dion Giles 0411 745 538