Remember John Key promising that the TPPA would be subject to full parliamentary scrutiny? Well National has moved to slash the time the select committee has to consider and report on submissions presented by New Zealanders on the treaty.
From Radio New Zealand:
MPs have been given just five days to consider hundreds of submissions on the controversial TPP trade deal after the timeframe was drastically cut from four weeks.
The select committee was originally give a month to write its report and present it back to Parliament.
Opposition MPs were furious at the sudden change and they called it an attack on democracy.
The trade deal has already been roundly criticised by its opponents for being too secretive and lacking consultation.
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee had been hearing submissions on the TPP from hundreds of people across the country and that will continue until the end of the month.
But opposition members on the committee say they were told yesterday the government wanted to cut down the time they had to analyse the submissions, so the legislation could get through by the end of the year.
They said they were stunned by the news and felt angry and frustrated.
The change is a bit surprising. You have to wonder if the extra three weeks gained in the process is worth the political grief. Mark Mitchell’s justification is that the Government wants to get the required legislation through by the end of the year but the decision reinforces the already very strong impression that the parliamentary scrutiny process is a farce.
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