1 August 2015

Time for the Govt to come clean on flailing TPP

The Government should come clean about what concessions it has already made and what issues have been left on the TPP negotiating table, the Green Party said today.

“The Government has purposefully left New Zealanders in the dark during the TPP negotiations because they know that Kiwis will baulk when they find how much we’re set to lose if it goes ahead,” said Green Party trade spokesperson Dr Russel Norman.

“With the negotiations stalled, it’s an opportunity for Tim Groser and John Key to finally come clean and reveal what the TPP really means for New Zealand, particularly for Pharmac, our ICT and dairy sectors, and for investor-state dispute settlements.

“We heard today that there are still some issues around intellectual property and the TPP.

‘New Zealanders deserve to know what those issues look like in the light of day, rather than behind closed doors in Maui.

“This will be of huge importance to our billion-dollar ICT sector.

“The Government should also now tell New Zealanders once and for all if the interests of ‘big pharma’ have won out with regard to Pharmac, as we suspected would happen all along.

“John Key reluctantly admitted earlier this week that the TPP will put Pharmac in the firing line, and put Kiwis’ access to affordable, cutting-edge drugs at risk.

“It’s about time he showed some transparency around the other strands of the TPP too.

“If John Key and Tim Groser are both confident that this a good deal for New Zealand then why are they so scared to tell New Zealanders what’s in the deal, so we can see for ourselves.

“The truth is that the full details of the TPP would reveal how deeply problematic the whole deal is,” said Dr Norman.

ENDS

© Scoop Media