Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAPPhotograph: Diego Fedele/AAPwith the catchy title “Hey Minister, leave that gas trigger alone” has urged the Labor government not to extend the Turnbull government’s gas trigger, which could be used to compel foreign-owned gas companies to keep gas reserves for use in Australia in some circumstances. It warns that actually using the trigger could inadvertently allow such companies to seek to sue the government under Australia’s existing international agreements.
Many Australians don’t know this but some of our trade agreements give foreign-owned companies special legal rights to sue the federal government if a change in law or policy reduces their profits, even if the change is in the public interest. The mechanism is known as an investor-state dispute settlement .to sue the Australian government over plain packaging laws in 2012. The Gillard government persisted with the legislation because it was an important public health policy.
I would argue no – it is not acceptable for companies to use this legal tool to curtail the democratic rights of governments to act in the interest of their citizens, especially on issues as important as energy supplies and climate change.
the contract is the contract ,the only way out of the contracts is to nationalise ,, good luck with that ,