Pacific Agreement

ref #1. Maybe having a devious mind does pay off. See in this mornings WA paper that Mr. Turncoat has stated that the medicine increase will not be imposed on the Australian people. He is quick off the mark as this info. was only slipped out by the press yesterday, maybe they are already reading the internet as a lot of Australians will be worried also. The other bits and pieces like minimum wage etc. the country will also be waiting to see what the brains trust has come up with, should imagine that may be the start of the political waffling. As no doubt all political parties have been aware for some time about this Trade Treaty they will or should all have their political questions and answers ready. Just to prove they are earning their money if nothing else. We await with bated breath for Mr. Turncoat to give us the gen when he is ready of course. Regarding all this control of the worlds prices as of today notice the price of the oil is about 48 dollars a barrel. When not so long back it was 115 dollars a barrel, the prices at the petrol pumps were the same and in some cases lower. Who what and why is this happening, is this outside influences controlling such. All questions which the average citizen no longer queries as could never get two honest corresponding replies in the past no doubt. I have nothing against Trade Treatys as long as they enhance our way of life, but am against the likes of the Euro-Zone which is just an advancement of control by certain unnameable countries. I would hate to see Australia fall into the same set of circumstances. No doubt all these questions will be answered sometime no doubt, just hope it is in our lifetime and is a truly honest answer and not the usual political waffle distributed through an agreeable newspaper. Cheers JS

HI John S.
You are talking about some extraordinary things that the seamen's union got in those extras and I agree that some are over the top.
When the Union Steam where in operation in NZ they didn't care too much about the extra ordinary claims we put in, oh! they fought against them of course, BUT the NZ seamen's union kept the conference lines from trading between NZ and Aus which the Union Steam liked very much thank you as it gave them carte blanch on prices on the trans Tasman run.
But what the business community here now want in the way of cutting penalty payments, is to pay everyone a flat wage seven days a week, as you know people have to work anything up to 70 hours a week to keep their heads above water, so why should there not be penalty rates paid, as for the weekend work the same should apply. In the news lately the politicians are talking about taxing the rich, my god what a scream came from that sector, and that is not for what work they did but just obscenely high profits.
As for the Pacific agreement, it has to go before the US assembly to be ratified and that with Obama on the outer is looking more and more unlikely to pass muster.
Cheers Des

The world as we know it in three clubs will be the eventual outcome. You can be a club member or be well on the outer. There are benefits of being a member as in nay club, but it will only be as good as it's members. One thing that will eventiualy come out of this is a reasonable wage structure for Oz rather than the antiquated award system we now have. A system that rewards the lazy as well as the worker no matter how hard, or not, that thye work.

#12... Agree with all you say Des. I don't discount the Unions and have as said before are a necessary thing to have whatever one thinks of them as evil or whatever. They may have a few @hit heads at the top promoting trouble, but they are the only thing the working man has, I was always a member when working. The penalty rates went a long time ago at sea, it is now an 84 hour week and a fixed wage, this applies to I think British Ships and Foreign alike. The hours are the same on Australian vessels also when I left. The Maritime Union out here is fighting a rearguard action and believe they have given away most of the concessions they won over the years, just to stay afloat. They always get a bad press, as really the only thing that business be it big or small fears, is a controlled labour force speaking its mind. There is a lot I agree and disagree with both in the union and outside the union. Myself being brought up in British shipping saw penalty rates as working ok (apart from having a lot of Paperwork). However times change. Ashore is different as imagine a man with a family should be rewarded for giving his weekends up from his kids. Whichever way you look at it the staus quo is always going to be what it is, the boss needs the worker as well as the worker needing the boss. It should be an agreement between the two in a perfect world. Cheers John S

Re. The Pacific Rim Trade Agreement.

Not only does it have to be ratified by the U.S.A., it has to be ratified by EVERY participating country.

The country reaping the largest benefit is Viet Nam. The United States (Assuming ratification) will eliminate 17% import duty, vastly favoring Viet Nam's clothing industry, at the expense of what is left of the U.S. clothing and shoemakers. And it means a further loss in market share to China's clothing industry, all ready in the doldrums by both increased wages to workers and competition from cheaper paid Asian countries.

On the brighter side for the U.S.. it opens greater opportunities in Pacific rim countries for automotive sales, vis-á-vis European auto industry and non-member signatories.

You know a lot more about it than I do Rodney, maybe you have been told more than us. My only reserve on it was that we may finish up like Europe with a controlling political head as well. Cheers JS

HI John.
I see in today's news that Mrs Clinton having been a full on supporter of the Pacific Basin Agreement is now back tracking and says that there are things in there she doesn't agree with, obviously there is an election coming up and she is under a lot of pressure, many Americans see it as a give give situation much as we will when we get the full details which I hope we get soon. Wouldn't like to end up like Britain has in the EU.
Cheers Des

Benefit for Oz will be the removal of numerous tarrif's, all of which make it hard to trade. Ms Clinton may not like the concept but if the Republican like it then most likely it will go through. Problem with any of these ids s that the unions and Labor here in Oz will claim it is bad for the worker, problem thee is that they only use vey few bits of the agreement to satisfy their own situation. As I have pointed out before we either join the club or sit on the outer and perish.

The impression that the initial report gave of the signing that it was a done deal and that was it, didn't realize that it still had a ways to go. However if it is anything like the done deal that was done with Iran re. nuclear power, see it going through the House of whatever it goes through in the States. Ms. Clinton is probably making sure she doesn't get the blame for future faults in the system, the same as all politicians, " It wasn't me my Lud, it was him". As said although the general public don't take too much notice, all political parties in Oz will be standing by with primed and loaded shotguns for the official unveiling. Point scoring will be the target, and have no doubt it will go through here as well, and already the parts that can be jettisoned already worked out and agreed with to keep everyone happy, including the electorate. Cheers JS