We’re not making this up. Foreign investors can sue our governments for hundreds of billions of dollars if they believe a policy change will reduce their expected profits. This can happen when trade deals have Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clauses.
The Albanese government has stopped ISDS clauses being included in new trade deals, but it is urgent that existing deals are reviewed and acted upon by Trade Minister, Don Farrell.
ISDS must not be allowed to stand in the way of public interest policy making, including climate and environment policies.
The current ISDS challenges by Australian mining billionaire Clive Palmer have drawn attention to ISDS, and no wonder. Palmer registered his company in Singapore in an attempt to extract $420 billion from Australian taxpayers. Fortunately he’s lost the first round but he’s vowed to fight on – a story to watch.
Sign the petition by the Australian Fair Trade & Investment Network (AFTINET). For more information about ISDS read the AFTINET explainer.