Each chapter gives a background to the issue:
For corporations to rule the world they have to encourage sovereign countries to accept new draconian laws which pass the traditional pillars of sovereignty and independence from the people to them. These include the privatisation of public utilities, like Telstra, Qantas and the Commonwealth Bank, legal tax avoidance schemes to maximise profits, and the unrestricted flow of capital to facilitate unfettered globalisation.
On December 1, 1997, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer addressed journalists at the Canberra Press Club, confirming that the Howard government was committed to "globalising" Australia. "We all fall into one of two camps", Downer said. "You are either a globaphobe or a globaphile.
"The globaphobes among us seek to relive the past, not confront the future".
The issues:
The MAI's purpose was to transfer key elements of power and control away from citizens and their democratically elected representatives to the world's largest multinationals - with no strings attached. The major issue was the secrecy which enveloped the negotiations. Only the "big business" club in Australia were in on the deal - setting up the parameters for the de-facto grab on the sovereignty of states around the world.
What the major parties thought about this issue:
It was Labor's Senator Peter Cook, then Minister for Trade, who represented Australia at the OECD Ministers' conference in May 1995 who agreed to commence MAI negotiations, and it was Labor who oversaw those negotiations between May 1995 and Labor's defeat in March 1996. The MAI negotiations continued uninterrupted under the new Coalition government.
In December 1997 I contacted the major parties about the MAI and was told that they had no understanding of what I was talking about and that "they were not interested anyway". When I alerted Ms Hanson to the MAI she had a different perspective and called that now historic press conference.
How the media have reported on this issue:
The mainstream media report globalisation as "good for Australia" and "unstoppable" while the reverse is obviously true for most Australian people - a haunting thought when you consider what Senator Bob McMullan said when signing the FSIA and its now known outcome to the banking industry.
Is there a solution:
The MAI has been put on hold in the OECD with negotiations on a similar treaty currently being formulated through the WTO.
Globalisation continues to be forced upon Australians through the subservience of the Australian government.
The only way in which Australians can ensure that no MAI-like treaty is enforced over the population is through politicians becoming more involved with the issue of international treaties. It is not good enough to trust bureaucrats as they often represent big business interests - a committee of concerned citizens should be on the front-line of monitoring this area.