Trans Pacific Partnership
While the nation argues over the treatment received by footballer Adam Goodes, the Abbott Government is overseas stitching up the secret TPP trade deal that no one wants but the major corporations.
Put simply, the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a deal which will agree to allow major corporations that produce chemicals, foods, medicines and so on, as well as fossil fuels, to dictate to the signatory countries that they must open all doors for these companies to profit. If a country decides to use its own laws to protect their people, resources or environment ahead of corporate profit – the governments of the countries can be sued and fine hundreds of millions of dollars!
This secret deal is what Abbott is set to sign off on, on Australian’s behalf! This has major consequences for our forests and environment, especially given the demand for our resources from biomass burning countries. And what is extremely alarming is that any state or government which does not allow fracking for unconventional LNG to be available for exporting to member countries, can also be sued for millions if not billions.
Read a short summary of this agreement here.