NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION ON TPPA – MAR 29

ITSOURFUTURE Bulletin #46 NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION ON TPPA 29 MARCH2 March 2014

JOIN THE NATION – SAY ‘NO’ TO THE TPPA

After four years, the corporate deal of the century – aka the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement – is still being negotiated in secret.

The TPPA puts our sovereignty at risk, violates our democratic right to decide our own future, and wastes taxpayers’ money that should be spent on social, not corporate, welfare.

It needs to stop. Now.

The National Day of Action Against the TPPA on 29 March will mark the fourth anniversary and send the government a message – Stop the TPPA!

Join the rallies, marches and events in your area. If there’s nothing happening, start something yourself. If you do organise something people get in touch with us through chris.zack or webadmin in case we know of something else being planned and can put you in touch with others.

Initial sponsors are itsourfuture, the FIRST Union, Tertiary Education Union. More are in the pipeline and will be posted on the website.

Chris Zack is the national coordinator of plans for the Day. He will help people make contact with each other. Contact him on chris.zack or webadmin.

Contacts and details will be posted on the itsourfuture.org.nz website and facebook pages, as well as in the next bulletins.

Leaflets, posters, placards, stencils for banners will be on the website for you to adapt.

There will be some national media. Itsourfuture will promote local events through out networks. Bomber Bradbury has volunteered coordinate the social media through Daily Blog. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT NOT EVERYONE DOES FACEBOOK.

Funding is scarce so we are afraid that events will have to be self-funding.

There are organising meetings this week in:

Wellington, Wednesday 5 March, evening, details contact: koruconsulting

Auckland, Thursday 6 March, 4-5pm at the University: details contact chris.zack

Palmerston North Council votes for pre-release of TPPA
Great work by Sue Pugmire and Warwick Smith in Palmerston North to get the Palmerston North City Council and Horizon Regional Council adopt resolutions that demand the pre-release of the TPPA:
That the Council resolves that:

That PNCC send a letter, before 28th February 2014, to the Prime Minister asking him to submit any agreement that NZ reaches in the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations to the scrutiny of Parliament including consideration by a select committee, with time to fully debate it, before a democratic decision is made on signing the agreement, and that the letter to the Prime Minister be copied to all councillors by 7th March 2014.

Malaysia’s Trade Minister promises to release TPPA text before it is signed
At the end of a detailed media briefing on Malaysia’s position on the TPPA on 20 February, the Trade Minister Mustapa said the draft text of the TPPA ‘will be released to enable detailed scrutiny and public debate before any final agreement is signed.’ That would be unprecedented for Malaysia. If Malaysia can do it, why can’t we?

Latest Singapore TPPA Ministerial Meeting Fails
After 10 days of meetings of officials and trade ministers the latest round of TPPA talks ended in deadlock. Not because the 29 chapters are stuck. They are almost all finished. Only 4 chapters are still subject to serious negotiations: intellectual property, investment, state-owned enterprises and environment. But they are all really important for NZ.

US-Japan standoff on agriculture – nothing for NZ?
The Singapore meeting failed because the US and Japan can’t agree on access for US agribusinesses to Japan. That stalemate could continue. But it could also fall over very quickly. Even if it does, there would be few gains, if any to NZ and the costs would be high. Grsoer said he would walk away of that happened. And pigs may fly. See Jane Kelsey’s analyses: DomPost and NZHerald.

TPPA puts cancer medicines at risk
Cancer specialist Dr George Laking and Dr Papaarangi Reid warned about the impact of the TPPA on medicines for cancer, diabetes and other ‘biologics’. Their op ed reported a rumour that the ministers in Singapore would give Big Pharma new monopoly rights for 8 years over these medicines. The hold-up on agriculture meant they didn’t make a decision, but it’s waiting in the wings.

What else could happen with Pharmac
The two-pronged attack on Pharmac includes a ‘transparency’ annex that gives the drug companies more leverage. New reports suggest the latest version may adapt the Australia-US FTA. Australian academic Deb Gleeson explains what that means for Pharmac.

TPPA threat to smokefree policies to the fore again
Malaysia’s attempt to carveout tobacco related policies from the TPPA has not yet been decided on. There were suggestions of a counter-move – a limited exception to the investors’ rights to sue. But that wasn’t tabled in Singapore. ASH in the US posted a media release, linked to a briefing paper by Jane Kelsey.

Jacobi from NZ US Council defends the indefensible economic study
After Geoff Bertram and Warwick Terry thoroughly debunked the Peterson Institute claims about massive benefits to NZ from the TPPA, the US NZ Council executive director Stephen Jacobi was still trying to claim in the DomPost that it was ‘robust’. Time to wave the white flag Stephen!

Washington Post explains Corporate America’s hold on the TPPA
See ‘Trade deals a closely held secret, shared by more than 500 advisers’, Washington Post, 28 February 2014, including graphics showing which corporations and lobbies influence what issues.

New Song by Democracy v TPPA by Sue Pugmire!
http://soundcloud.com/suepugmire/democracy-vs-tpp

Media reports:
RadioNZ Morning Report, post-ministerial interviews Lori Wallach, Tim Groser, Jane Kelsey
Paul Krugman, No Big Deal, New York Times, 27 February 2014
Jon Edwards, Getting the balance right on medical patents, ABC Australia, 25 February 2014