Globalisation -- perhaps the buzz-word of the nineties -- has come to mean many things to people, and our perspective of what it means is largely influenced by how we are affected.

Some view globalisation as removed from human values - a bloodless enterprise, made up of computer blips, stock market figures and sales graphs.

One person I asked joked globalisation meant 1950's lighting.

My local Loys soft drink deliverer tells of his fears that Schweppes will be swallowed up by Coca Cola and no more discounts will be available to home deliverers like himself. He sees that globalisation -- once a buzzword used only by politicians and economists -- could intimately affect his life and his ability to bring up his children.

People see globalisation like a giant pacman: eating up their familiar brands they took pride in. They went through the angst of losing the corner store thirty years or so ago, now they see they are losing everything that was home grown and familiar in which they had a stake. They feel disenfranchised, angry

These are sentiments that have been echoed by the new Minister for Trade, Mark Vaile, but apparently, not shared by other senior members of the Federal Government.

Australia is in the interesting position of being in the middle of these two extremes: likely to gain from elements of globalisation, particularly as it positions itself as the financial and services centre of the Asian region, but in many other areas -- particularly in trade -- there is a growing sense among the Australian population that globalisation has moved too far and too fast in this country, leaving us increasingly vulnerable.

Most realised that international competition meant their markets were no longer guaranteed, and were seeking new ways of sustaining their communities in the wake of the demise of former industries.

It is a basic tenet that political legitimacy for change is rooted in popular participation. Like people around the globe, Australians have watched markets for their goods disappear, investment vanish overseas to cheaper and more competitive labour markets, and seen familiar, home-grown brands gobbled up by overseas conglomerates.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Government Globalisation, Coca Cola, Grand Final, , Senate Committee, Lynch Ballarat, Mark Vaile, rural regional, globalisation --, national governments,
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