The Green Party speaks out on 'Trans-Pacific Partnership'

A tip of the hat to Russel Norman!

This is very effective (and principled) politics from the Green Party. The documents leaked in the US have allowed the truth to come out about the highly secret negotiations around the TPPA to come out and the duplicity of the government has been revealed to the politically-literate section of the population.

It is clear that this government absolutely wants the provisions of the TPP as it will allow them to open up the country to deep-sea drilling for oil, fracking and mining. If this agreement is signed any future government that wants to take action to defend the country's environment and sovereignty will find itself subject to being sued by corporations and foreign governments.

It remains to be seen how the government will manage this. Precedent would indicate that they will keep lying and misleading to serve the corporate interests -because, it has to be understood, this and the selling of NZ's national assets is not something that will be let go of.

But then this government will be revealed for what it is – anti-democratic, opaque and serving the interests of the elite of this country and foreign corporations.

The TPPA is really a reincarnation of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) from the 90's which was, in the end, defeated by the French. Then the opposition got no traction and the agreement remained hidden from public knowledge.

This time, it seems, is different.

We will see no opposition to this from the opposition Labour Party because they serve the exact same globalist agenda as the government. The Green Party is serving the role of the actual opposition party. In this they have my support.

Groser misleading public over TPP - Greens

Green Party co-leader Russel Norman says Trade Minister Tim Groser is mis-leading the public over the Trans-Pacific trade negotiations.

Radio NZ,

15 June, 2012

Leaked documents from the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks show New Zealand has agreed to give foreign companies the right to sue the Government over policies which cause them financial losses.

Mr Groser says the Government's right to legislate on social or environmental issues will be protected.

But Dr Norman told Morning Report that challenges to Government decisions will be lodged with a tribunal which will ultimately decide what the government can and cannot do.

He said broader trade issues will over-ride domestic policies in the tribunal deciding such matters, as happened in the United States over the labelling of canned tuna.

Dr Norman said the public has been kept in the dark won't know what the government is negotiating until four years after any deal is signed, speaking at a regional conference on Afghanistan, called for the immediate withdrawal of foreign troops from the country and proposed that NATO use part of its military budget to help revive the Afghan economy..

For background on Australia's struggle over cigarette labelling - and the TPPA - see this

Another opponent joins fight against Australia's tobacco laws

As another country prepares to take Australia to task over its plain packaging laws for cigarettes, an expert is warning that a new trade deal could invite more challenges

To hear audio GO HERE

See also - 

Plain-packagingcigarette challenge in Australia's high court