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Australia's universal healthcare system could be undermined: Wikileaks Documents

Xinhua, June 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

Documents leaked via Wikileaks showed that Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement will undermine Australia's universal healthcare system, pushing up the cost of medicine, according to Fairfax Media on Thursday.

The TPP is a regional Pacific Rim regulatory investment treaty, negotiated in secret, encompassing approximately 40 percent of the world's GDP.

The Australian government currently subsidies the cost of pharmaceuticals for every Australian.

Documents leaked via Wikileaks showed TPP countries will face a much greater risk of pharmaceutical companies taking legal action to contest government decisions. These actions relate to the list price and reimbursement of medicines, suggesting consumers will pay more while corporate profits will be protected.

The newly disclosed draft, dated December 2014, has been changed from previously leaked U.S. proposals. The new text is largely based on compromises developed by Australia and Japan in consultation with the United States.

Dr. Deborah Gleeson, an expert in international trade and public health at La Trobe University, said that while the draft was significantly watered down from previous versions, the new version is clearly intended to "cater to the interests of the pharmaceutical industry."

"It sets a terrible precedent for using regional trade deals to tamper with other countries' health systems and could circumscribe the options available to developing countries seeking to introduce pharmaceutical coverage programs in the future," Gleeson said.

Gleeson said the reference to an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism in the leaked draft would allow multinational corporations to sue countries over their pharmaceutical policies.

Australian National University Associate Professor of Intellectual Property Law Matthew Rimmer said the latest leaks highlight a need for open debate in the TPP.

"Obama can only proceed with the trade agreement with the fast track authority from the U.S. congress," Rimmer said. "There needs to be proper legislative scrutiny by the U.S. congress and similarly here in Australia."

Trade officials from the United States, Australia and 10 other Pacific Rim nations are expected to conclude the secret TPP negotiations in the next few months. Endi