The Australian Government ratified the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) on October 31st 2018. Protesters of the TPP have been described as being "misinformed" by authorities keen to sign the agreement. Previous analysis of the TPP showed detrimental clauses for Australia. The TPP was first signed in New Zealand in 2016 amongst significant protests. While there were some opiniions that Australia could be a winner in the agreement, the consensus amongst experts that the pharmaceuticals and investor-state arbitration sections make the TPP not worth signing — the total cost from these clauses will outweigh any other benefits. A full costing of the TPP for Australia is still not available.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Gaaark on Monday November 05 2018, @11:13AM (9 children)
"Protesters of the TPP have been described as being "misinformed" "
Gee... misinformed about something they gave no information about unless under a NDA. I wonder why?
Don't do things secretly and people won't be misinformed.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 05 2018, @11:32AM (2 children)
Yes, it's so secret I just found it on government website. Don't tell them!!!
https://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/not-yet-in-force/tpp-11/official-documents/Pages/official-documents.aspx [dfat.gov.au]
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday November 05 2018, @10:28PM (1 child)
Haven't been around long?, Or were you privy to the negotiations.
The negotiations were kept in camera and to even read it took a NDA.
Once it was finally exposed, yeah you could read it, but there was a loooong secret process.
You should get out more often and read the news.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by dry on Tuesday November 06 2018, @05:31AM
Things did improve after America dropped out, at Canada's insistence. Unluckily we got the shit that was fixed added to NAFTA2.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 05 2018, @11:35AM (5 children)
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/05/tpp-trade-deal-new-zealand-releases-text-online [theguardian.com]
Oh and look, a story from 2015 that the text is there. A year before the "protests because secret text".... hmmm....
Lazy always have an excuse.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Monday November 05 2018, @12:04PM (2 children)
There's more to the story than that. I've seen nothing in general or specific media about analyses of the text. That's an important indicator because trade agreements of this scale always use banal, legalistic language and the implications are never spelled out. You need the context and familiarity with the legalistic terms used to really understand the agreement.
When Obama was trying to railroad America into signing the TPP the only reports on it were that even members of Congress couldn't read the text unless by appointment at a secure facility and they weren't allowed to take notes. *Danger, Will Robinson!" is what that says.
The absence of media coverage of the agreement is a similar warning sign. You don't vote on something of this magnitude without full and extensive public discussion.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 05 2018, @06:19PM (1 child)
That's right. The TPP is about stealing rights from people by circumnavigating their constitutions. The Australian government just shows what scum they are again.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 06 2018, @01:21AM
The Australian government just shows what scum they are again.
A mere reflection of the people that vote for them. Don't blame the politician that finds lying,stealing, and cheating to be a rewarding career. You people need to look in an entirely different direction to discover why that happens.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday November 05 2018, @10:38PM (1 child)
Oh look! Someone who was born November 2015 and knows nothing previous to that month!
It took wikileaks to start exposing it and the US government tried to keep it covered up even after that: just a few months earlier:
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/opinion/dont-keep-trade-talks-secret.html [nytimes.com]
Lazy has an excuse: your stupidity is just stupid.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 06 2018, @12:40AM
Without the US in there it is pretty much DOA. Trump saw it for what it was. A shit deal to steal money.