TPPA snippets and media coverage
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11:25 am, February 7th, 2016 - 24 comments
Categories: activism, capitalism, class war, Globalisation, journalism, news, tv -
Tags: rod oram, The Spinoff, tpp, TPPA
David Slack has a humorous piece on the TPPA this morning. Here’s an extract:
A beginner’s guide to the TPPA
…
The idea of an ISDS is that if the Government passes some law, or gets a bit too hands-on in the economy, a colossal corporation with armies of lawyers might feel that its rights to do business here have been undermined.So it can go to the ISDS and say “your honour, that mean country is picking on me, and I have an army of lawyers here to help me prove it.”
And next thing you know, the Government will have to change its laws or its policies to keep the corporation happy.
Could that really happen, though?
If you’re the Government, not the remotest chance. If you’re Jane Kelsey, as sure as the next plane to Sydney.
So who is right?
No one knows. Only time will tell.
That’s not what Matthew Hooton says.
No one knows. Only time will tell.
Of passing relevance to that particular topic:
https://twitter.com/MacFinlay/status/694984987909619712
Rod Oram has his say in the Sunday Star Times today, reproduced on Facebook:
Government’s TPPA stand damages NZ’s honest broker reputation
…
Here are some of the major gaps between NZ’s rhetoric and reality about the TPPA.It is a Free Trade Agreement. No, it isn’t. Too many tariffs and other barriers remain for it to deserve the accolade. Rather, it is a “managed trade” pact, argues Martin Sandbu, one of the best analysts at the Financial Times of London, in this article bit.ly/FTonTPPA.
It will remove barriers to trade. But we already sell lots to middle class Americans and Japanese, which are said to be the big prize. While, TPPA might help a bit, it will perpetuate agricultural subsidies, which are the far greater distorter of trade for our primary sector. It will also hinder the World Trade Organisation’s efforts to push back against subsidies.
It will make us wealthy. No, it won’t. By 2030 it could lift our GDP by 0.9 per cent. With TPPA, we’d hit that target by January 1, 2030. Without TPPA we’d hit the target three months later. Moreover, the government’s forecast of 0.9 per cent relies on heroic assumptions about easing non-tariff barriers. Analysis of this is coming thick and fast. Here’s a recent example from Tufts University in the US, bit.ly/TuftsTPPA and this from the Petersen Institute, the most respected, most apolitical of Washington trade think tanks, bit.ly/PetersenTPPA.
The Investor State Dispute Settlement process has been around for years in other trade agreements, so there’s nothing to worry about. Yet the EU halted its FTA talks with the US because it said ISDS was a “very toxic issue.” It came back to the table with a bold proposal for a proper international judicial system for settling disputes.
…
Only the political left are unhappy with TPPA. Ah, so the Cato Institute, pharmaceutical and tobacco companies, and the EU are left-wing? The reality is fact-based, real world analysts, companies, government and organisations are identifying plenty of problems with TPPA.But our government and business leaders are insisting TPPA will be a bonanza, bigger even than our Free Trade Agreement with China. At a bare minimum they are setting themselves up for severe disappointment and serious loss of credibility. They are blinding themselves to the massive work that has yet to be done on TPPA. …
Finally, from The Spinoff “José Barbosa watched days of tapes to bring you this examination of the way TV news covered the recent anti-TPP protests in Auckland”. Check it out on The Spinoff, or…
https://twitter.com/keith_ng/status/696092604522299393
https://twitter.com/mfyfyr/status/695521937603239936
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- Govt’s miserly 1.5% minimum wage will take workers backwards
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- Release: Govt shirking responsibility for rate hikes
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- Release: Govt breaks promise on EV chargers
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- Greens call for end to subsidies for Methanex
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- Govt child poverty targets allow for increase in poverty
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- Release: Four weeks annual leave under threat
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- Sanctions regime to create more hardship for families
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- Govt gifts renters housing anxiety for Christmas
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- Release: National Party urged to support modern slavery legislation
Labour is urging the Prime Minister to walk the talk and support legislation combating modern slavery. ...1 week ago
- Release: Labour has lost confidence in the Speaker
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- Release: Nicola Willis’ smaller ferries will cost more
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- Bill to sanction unlawful occupation of Palestine
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- Release: Labour fully supports greyhound racing ban
The Government has done the right thing in moving to ban greyhound racing. ...2 weeks ago
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Just another reminder to continue the boycott of TV3.
How do Garner, du Plessis, Street and Hosking sleep at night?
Don’t they have any conscience to pumping out such blatant propaganda and hatchet jobs?
If you want to watch a better cross-section of the 20,000 TPP protesters, RNZ;s live stream provided a respectful platform for New Zealanders to explain their opposition to the deal.
How do they sleep at night? On big comfortable piles of money.
Oscar Kightley stands up and is counted.
‘It’s been hard to get an objective view on it, since it was all done in secret, which is another of the bugbears for critics. If it’s so fricking amazing, why not just tell everyone what’s in it?’
Nowhere else in life would someone be cool with having to abide by a deal they knew nothing about until after it was signed.’
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/76649997/tppa-signed-sealed-delivered–its-ours
Winston Peters
With the Trans-Pacific Partnership, New Zealand is signing a blank cheque
‘While National is prepared to sign a blank cheque, American lawmakers may eventually pass something quite different. At the beginning of February Congressman Dave Reichert, a Republican member of their Ways and Means Committee, said the Republican majority have concerns over “market access outcomes” for dairy and rice.
If that is not enough, Congressman Reichert added protections for biologic drugs, the carve out of anti-tobacco measures from investor-state dispute settlement provisions and the exclusion of financial services from a ban on data localisation.
Sadly, New Zealand will not have one scintilla of influence on the final shape of the TPPA.’
TPPA Signing Causes NZ’s Largest Protest In Decades! 4 Feb2016
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Outstanding line 🙂
Who said that?
it’s the last twitter comment in the post
Link doesn’t work McFlock
https://twitter.com/mfyfyr/status/695521937603239936
Bill made the same point on ts the other day.
Fixed link too.
cheers
@HdPA and all those who trash and whakaiti the protesters
Protesters don’t have autocues
1. Think of the reasons why YOU think that TPPA is good for NZ BASED ON something other than hearsay and WHY we are better in than out of the TPPA. (Sorry- faith-based reasons not acceptable..evidence-based rational thoughts only)
2. Read Rod Oram's article
https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10153322366916709
3. Think, do further research, and think again.
4. Look up the meaning of ad hominem
The Hatchet job done by the story must rate as one of the worst examples of journalism in this country.
Watch Elizabeth Warren on the TPPA.
She nails it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/elizabeth-warren-2016_us_56b4f8cee4b01d80b2462dc3
(Scroll down to video near the bottom of the article)
Yes really good.
And a good antidote to the paid (??) nonsense from Hooton et al. on the “anti-American” TPPA opponents 🙂
Gawd, does HDPA realise what she has become? but excellent post and great balance for the bollocks that was on TV one and TV3, who should be ashamed of themselves, and once again, thank heavens JC is returned, just in time with Check Point, which was superb coverage. (Like we should get on TV One and TV 3.)
Was HDPA ever a good journalist?
Great comeback to Key’s “rent-a-mob” remark
Excellent ropata. Just needs to add key as ‘rent a boy’ for USA Corps
Hope that’s not too crude.
From Robert Westenra’s blogsite
What the NZ government wants you to know about the provisions of the TPPA
‘The government and John Key want to tell you at every opportunity how transparent they are.
You make up your own mind but to me, judging by the amount that has been blacked out they are keeping the details secret.’
http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1602/TPP_Final_Mandate_3_October_2015.pdf
http://robinwestenra.blogspot.co.nz/2016/02/the-government-blacks-out-most-of.html
Best twitter comment of the night!
Under The Spotlight @UnderTheLightNZ
Can’t wait for the stories this week where journalists ask people why they are pro #TPPA to show how uninformed they are as well. #nzpol