TPPA: Lack of Transparency is Concerning

“It’s difficult to know whether the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) benefits our country, because the information and detail of what is actually proposed is being withheld from ordinary New Zealanders,” says Conservative Party Leader Colin Craig. This lack of transparency is concerning.

“This is a continuation of what we have been seeing for some time; the government putting itself in a back room, out of the public eye, and making deals that affect us all.”

“The Conservative Party is looking for a healthy democracy where our government is transparent, and leads the way by winning the support of the people before taking action.”

“This has not been the case. If we look at the referendum on the anti-smacking legislation, or the sale of our state assets. In both cases the people of New Zealand clearly indicated where they wanted to go. The government blatantly ignored the people’s wishes.”

“New Zealanders want certainty that international agendas are not being put ahead of our best interests,” says Mr Craig. "A simple website outlining the details and the pros and cons of the TPPA would be a cost effective way to increase transparency."

“We don’t want our country to buy into foreign agreements that cost us our jobs, freedoms, liberties or the product choices that matter to us.”

“It's time government became 'for the people by the people', and far less about a select few in back rooms taking us down paths we do not want to go."

“New Zealand’s sovereignty must come ahead of commercial interests” he says.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>