It takes a lot of bravery for governments to stand up to big business. But the Gillard government has shown a lot of guts during its tenure.

It stood up to Big Tobacco in the battle over plain packaging of tobacco products and has defended individuals and families affected by asbestos. It took on Big Oil in its Clean Energy Future reforms and stood up to the resource barons with the mining tax.

The government is now considering Big Pharma – the pharmaceutical industry and their patents – and has launched several inquiries into patent law and pharmaceutical drugs.

One of Julia Gillard’s finest speeches in the Australian Parliament was on the topic of dodgy drug patents. She took the Howard government to task for allowing patent owners to engage in the nefarious practice of “evergreening” – extending the life of patents beyond their natural term by making minor changes.

The context for the speech on August 4 2004 was a debate over the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement.

In October 2012, the Australian government announced an inquiry into pharmaceutical drug patents. The Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation Mark Dreyfus QC observed, “In certain circumstances, pharmaceutical patents can be extended by up to five years beyond the normal patent term. These provisions were introduced back in 1998, and are due for review.”

An expert panel will consider a number of matters relating to patent law, the pharmaceutical industry, health care and competition.