I'm back, and hoping you can find the Flying Pigs at the new URL. Had to move the blog to a new part of the server, a trickier operation than expected. No matter, it's up and running now. Back to more weightier issues.
Mark Latham has dropped a bombshell with his announcement that the Labor party will only back the US Free Trade Agreement if the government amends laws regarding media content and the PBS. The government has agreed to change the media laws, but not the PBS.
It's hard to see where the government can go on this issue. The PBS is a big concern to voters, particularly older ones. The change to the law that Labor wants was flagged by the Senate Committee report, and Labor's unlikely to back down and pass the trade deal without the amended PBS legislation.
The problem of renewing patents on drugs that have had their original patent lapse is a large reason why drugs are so expensive in the US.
Under the "evergreening" ploy in the US, drug firms often claim a new use or relatively slight changes for their products so they can extend the time they can maintain higher prices.Evidence presented to the Senate review committee asserted evergreening had become a significant obstacle to the entry of low-cost, "copycat" generic medicines in the US and Canada.
Professor David Henry - a former member of the panel that recommends new drugs for prescription subsidies - said yesterday the agreement introduced a more commercialised environment for companies to exploit techniques such as evergreening.
He said the system was vulnerable because the prices the Government agrees to pay were based on the lowest-cost product of that range of drugs.
It was this "reference pricing" method, widely hailed overseas for its low-cost results, that the US drugs industry was trying to destroy, Professor Henry said.
Labor is correct to demand changes to protect the PBS. Politically, the government is not doing itself any favours by blocking this amendment. They have a woeful track record of backing the US without question. Any reluctance to back up the PBS will be seen by a large part of the electorate as the government once again bowing to US interests.
If the government is serious about the trade deal, they should agree to the amendments demanded by the opposition. The PBS should not be jeopardised because of a reluctance to admit that there was a problem in the negotiated agreement.
