Australian Fair Trade & Investment Network

Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET) is a network made up of over 90 organisations and more individuals who are concerned about the impacts of international trade and investment.

AFTINET acts as a watchdog of Australia’s international trade policies and was established in the wake of the successful global campaign against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, an agreement that would place business interests above those of the community.

AFTINET monitors Australia’s trade policies by organising community campaigns to ensure that trade is not putting profits before people.

In particular we focus on the environmental, social, labour and development impacts that bad trade agreements have on communities. We campaign at a grassroots level as well as publish reports and updates for our members.

AFTINET is always looking to get yound people involved. We offer volunteer positions and interships for young people looking to learn more about community focused trade and our campaigns for trade justice. This is a great opportunity to gain more skills and understanding of international trade for young people.

There are also opportunities to get active in the campaigns we run. AFTINET can help support young people to make presentations about trade issues to their schools/universities etc

AFTINET is currently looking at the way that trade is going to impact on climate change, particularly the restrictions that trade agreements may have on how governments respond to climate change. We are also about to undertake a project on developing alternatives to the current trade patterns that don’t respect human and labour rights and the environment.