I’m going to do an interview with the 7:30 report about the proposed Free Trade Agreement with the US. If my bit isn’t cut and the whole piece isn’t bumped for something hotter (both normal occurrences in my experience with TV) it should go to air this evening.
If you prefer text to video as an information source, you can get a pretty good idea of what I’m going to say here. For the pro-FTA case, you can go here.
Update As half-predicted, the interview didn’t go to air. Another day, perhaps.
Update 21/5 The piece went to air tonight with a couple of soundbites from me.
John Quiggin 
All I can say is that the $8 a pound Tasmanian smoked salmon was very good. You people down there aren’t overfishing or anything, are you?
The only certain thing about the free trade agreement is that it is a ‘fashion’ thing. It is fashionable amongst todays crop of opinion makers.
What happens to an FTO when ‘red white and blue’ becomes the new black?
http://ads.nationalreview.com/craftedwithpride.asp
You should tell people which date, timezone, channel and country you’re talking about as well, really spell it out. Yes, I know that’s treating some people as dumb.
ABC TV 7:30 PM tonight (May 20), all Australian time zones
BDeLong: I don’t know if Tasmania is overfishing, but Victoria certainly is, but don’t worry the Vic government has made several election commitments about fixing the problem, so we can all be assured that something will be done.
As to the FTA: Colour me silly, but I’m doubtful that .au will ever get a FTA with the US that includes agriculture, so the issue is prolly moot.
It’s Groundhog Day for you, John…haha.
Caught the piece halfway through, John. Is it just me, or is your magnificent beard even more fullsome than it was at its last television appearance?
That couldn’t have been your blog on your computer screen during the over the shoulder shot, could it?
In the broadcast Alan Oxley says that: “The economics of trade liberalisation tell you that the smaller economy when connected with the bigger economy will do better and I think that’s what we should expect out of a free trade agreement between Australia and the US.” Do better in the broad macroeconomic sense maybe, but not without some pretty significant sacrifices. Take the pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS), for example, which the US claims is a ‘barrier to trade’. Then there is the small matter of Australian media ownership laws and regulations about Australian content. This won’t be an issue, I suppose, so long as US cultural and linguistic imperialism doesn’t register in the calculation of GDP figures.
Not only was it the blog, but it was this very post, now rendered as self-referential as any postmodernist could desire.
LOL
Definately not overfishing.
Salmon isn’t native to Oz so most (if not all)Tassie salmon is via aquaculture.
$8 a pound for smoked salmon is damn cheap in anyone’s language. It certainly doesn’t retail that cheaply (although a raw whole fish is nearly that price at the markets).
And go metric dammit! 🙂
If only carp tasted as good.