How to Kill a Country: Australia's Devastating Trade Deal with the United States

by Linda Weiss, John Mathews, Elizabeth Thurbon

Seriously criticizing the Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the United States, this examination surveys the consequences of the agreement for Australia's medicine prices, agricultural exports, and royalty payments along with the effects of the agreement on other parts of the Australian economy. While analyzing these issues, the authors also make the overarching argument that the agreement will destroy Australia's culture and turn her into a subservient appendage of the United States.

204 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Australian government was treacherous and negligent in the FTA (Free Trade Agreement) deal with the US, especially the agriculture and government procurement sections. The PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) was supposedly massively diluted (I don't know because I don't give two hoots about drugs as I don't use them, and I hate that taxpayers give so much money to Big useless Pharma companies so easily and for completely BS reasons).

But that's John Howard and Mark Vaille for you. They should have been drawn and quartered for what they did do this country, just on the FTA alone. A bit extreme? Sure if you're against capital punishment like I am, but read the book and see how you feel and what you think.

The book was slow going but got really good at the end.

How it was even thinkable that a neoliberal government can ever be voted in to this country prior to 2100 or before they changed, is beyond my current brain matter comprehension or care. They have knowingly and willingly destroyed so much potential of this country just for an ideology and to sell out to their business buddies in coal & mining as well as water and farming.

Funnyly* enough due to their poor decision and inaction on climate change and energy they're now thinking the once-unthinkable! the bailing out of a coal-fired power station (Liddell, north of Sydney). Just incredible! Shows what useless mugs the Liberal National coalition (LNP) are - the world's worst government without doubt (OK, we're talking of the OECD countries, but even then they make some backwater banana republics look clever).

If you want to understand some part of how the LNP is so incompetent, read this book.

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* OK well it would be funny if it wasn't so serious and affect us all in so many ways from pollution to waste of tax revenues.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could not complete reading this as it often draws too long a bow, the alarmism got to me. While there is plenty to be alarmed about in the treaty, this was written before the authors had much evidence. It would be good for this to be re-published, or succeeded with a sequel, looking at the evidence since the treaty came into force.