Our global future should be clean and green. The sooner we start working towards this future the better Australia's position within the village will be. I fear this agreement for global trade will disadvantage Australian access to gene technology and limit the potential to develop new technologies which will supersede technology designed for another hemisphere or agricultural practice. Australia had an opportunity to circumvent the worst aspects of this through competition laws. I am sure that Michael Gudinski has strong views about the impact of such global intellectual property agreements on the entertainment industry, in particular, this Government's decision to allow the parallel importation of sound recordings.
Governments do have the power to check the power of the markets and global forces.
One example where the resolve of the Australian Government is currently being tested is in the conflict between the use of food standards as a trade barrier and the protection of public health. Australia is obliged under the WTO agreements to be consistent with international standards whenever a standard is developed. An exception is made when it can be demonstrated on good scientific principle that a change would undermine protection of public health and safety in Australia. Situations like this, where governments are blinking in the face of powerful international trade lobbies are becoming more prevalent in the economic and trade context since the conclusion of the Uruguay round of GATT and the establishment of the WTO, and the rise and rise of multinational corporations. But this also highlights the remaining ability of governments to check the reach of multinationals and global forces.