[Aidwatch] AID/WATCH E-bulletin: Take the PACE out of PACER Plus

[AID/Watch E-Bulletin]

AID/WATCH E-Bulletin Wednesday 29 July 2009
1.    TAKE ACTION: Take the PACE out of PACER PLUS

2.     AID/WATCH IN THE NEWS: Australian foreign aid to East Timor 'wasted'
3.     AID/WATCH in THE NEWS: Earth Matters

4.    EVENT: Trade, workers' rights and development

5.    Donate to AID/WATCH

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1.    ACTION: TAKE THE PACE OUT OF PACER PLUS

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is currently
calling for submissions on PACER Plus.

PACER Plus is a proposed free trade agreement between Australia, New
Zealand and 14 Pacific Island countries, which will cover trade in goods,
services and investment. PACER Plus will have major impacts on Pacific
island economies and communities, including significant losses in
government revenue, undermining of public services, business closures and
job losses.


The Australian government has been 'bullying' Pacific governments to
fast-track PACER Plus negotiations. This push goes directly against
requests by Pacific governments and civil society organisations for
national consultations and thorough research to determine whether PACER
Plus is in the interests of Pacific countries and citizens



Make a submission now - Urge the Australian government not to start
negotiations on PACER Plus until national consultations and thorough
independent research has taken place in the Pacific Island countries.



To make a submission, see:
http://aidwatch.org.au/campaigns/take-action-take-the-pace-out-of-pacer-plus



For more information on PACER Plus see:
http://www.aidwatch.org.au/publications/pacer-plus-resources



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2.    AID/WATCH IN THE NEWS: Australian foreign aid to East Timor 'wasted'
ABC Radio Australia 29 July 09: The spotlight is again on foreign aid from
Australia after comments by East Timor's president Jose Ramos Horta that
foreign aid was being spent on East Timor but not in East Timor.

It was only in April that the Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd made
similar claims about aid to Papua New Guinea, saying too much Australian
aid was being spent on consultants' fees.

To view the transcript and/or listen to the segment, see:
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/connectasia/stories/200907/s2639678.htm

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3.    AID/WATCH IN THE NEWS: Earth Matters

The land ownership system in Melanesia is under threat. Lara Daley of
Aid/Watch and Lee Tan of the Australian Conservation Foundation explain
what this could mean for local people and the environment, and why
"development" isn't always a straight forward thing

To listen to the podcast, see:
http://podcast.3cr.org.au/pod/3CRCast-2009-07-26-91589.mp3

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4.     EVENT: Trade, workers' rights and development

Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA, the international solidarity aid arm of the
ACTU, and the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET)
invite you to a fringe event of the ALP National Conference to discuss the
links between trade, workers' rights and development for the world's
poorest.

The event is open to all and will be an opportunity to hear about what
role trade and aid should play in development. Speakers include: The Hon.
Bob McMullan (Parliamentary Secretary or International Development
Assistance); Adam Wolfenden (AFTINET); and Peter Jennings (Union Aid
Abroad - APHEDA)

When:             Friday 31st July 2009, 7:45 am - 8:45am

Where:            Ground Floor Training Room,  Unions NSW Building
377-383 Sussex Street, Sydney (near the corner of Goulburn St)

For more information see: http://aftinet.org.au/cms/

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5.    Donate to AID/WATCH


AID/WATCH is a community-based organisation and does not accept government
or corporate funding. We need your help to continue our work as the
independent monitor of Australia's aid and trade and to improve the
effects of development on the planet and its people. Only through being
financially self-sufficient can we have the freedom to criticise or
applaud with objectivity. Together with you we can achieve change without
compromise.

Click this link to give to AID/WATCH today:

http://www.aidwatch.org.au/donate

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Administrivia:

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AID/WATCH

19 Eve St., Erskineville,

NSW, 2043, Australia

Ph:       +61 2 95578944

Fax:      +61 2 95579822

www.aidwatch.org.au

info at aidwatch.org.au




Lara Daley

Director

AID/WATCH

19 Eve St., Erskineville,

NSW, 2043, Australia

Ph:       +61 2 95578944

Fax:      +61 2 95579822
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