December 05, 2012
Secrecy of TPP talks alarms NZ First
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is warning New Zealanders they could be losing hard fought rights in the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement.
Negotiators from 11 Asian and Pacific Rim countries are in Auckland this week working on details of the new trade structure.
While the Government is talking it up as a way to create jobs and get better access for New Zealand dairy products to the United States, critics say that New Zealand's drug buying agency Pharmac is under threat, as are subsidies for films like The Hobbit.
Mr Peters says much of what seems to be in the secret deal is not about trade.
"What's copyright and patent law about? That's not about trade. That's about rights and these things are all being incorporated in the TPP secretly and privately. If it was so good, why won't they tell us publicly what it is about? It is the secrecy and lack of democracy about it that we find repulsive," he says.
Mr Peters says Māori need to stop being apathetic and speak out against the TPPA.
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