People's Health Movement Petition to Minister Robb
The People's Health Movement Australia's Petition to Trade Minister Andrew Robb:
Support the 5-country proposal on patents and medicines in TPPA negotiations to safeguard access to medicines
Latest News
Public Health Association calls on Government to protect medicines, public health
21/11/2013
The Public Health Association is calling on the Australian Government to support efforts to protect access to medicines and public health measures in negotiations on the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).
The Trans-Pacific Partnership and Australia’s right to know
19/11/2013
The Trans-Pacific Partnership and Australia’s right to know
by Dr Patricia Ranald, Convener of AFTINET, for The Conversation
In the history of trade agreement negotiations, most have been undertaken in secret, justified on the grounds that the governments’ negotiating positions would be weakened if they became public.
Australian media following the TPP leaked chapter
19/11/2013
Since WikiLeaks released the draft text of the TPP's intellectual property chapter last week, there have been a number of analysis articles published, including the following:
The New Matilda asked a range of experts including academics, an activist and a public health specialist for their take on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and its implications: TPP 'A Substantial Threat To Australian Sovereignty'.
ANU lecturer Ruth Townsend published a piece on The Conversation about Australian sovereignty and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses.
When trade agreements threaten sovereignty: Australia beware
The Conversation also published an analysis of the leaked IP chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and what this would mean for the public's intellectual property rights: Regional trade pact puts Australia in ‘absurd’ position, say experts
A Brisbane radio station broadcast an interview with Melanie Walker , the Acting CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, who spoke on medicines, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, tobacco plain packaging, food labeling and alcohol health warnings.
Rally for a FAIR DEAL or NO DEAL in the TPP
Event details:
12-2pm, Friday, 29th November 2013
Martin Place (Corner Castlereagh St)
Bring banners, flags, signs and friends!
Please help us promote the rally by sharing this poster and inviting people to the event.
TPP Intellectual Property draft chapter leak
WikiLeaks has leaked a draft of the highly controversial intellectual property chapter of the TPP.
Three articles were published in the Sydney Morning Herald today.
Australians may pay the price in Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement by Philip Dorling
Australia backs the US at every turn against its own consumers by Peter Martin
Medicine prices could rise under Trans-Pacific Partnership deal by Julia Medew
14/11/2013
Push for greater transparency in the TPP
The Financial Review reports the Greens and consumer groups renewed push for greater transparency in the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), calling for the agreement text to be published before further talks in December.
Stiglitz on why investor state dispute settlement is a bad idea
Nobel prize winning economist, Joseph E. Stiglitz comes out strongly against investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in trade and investment deals including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
South Africa is now joining Ecuador and Venezuela in terminating some investment agreements. In his piece, 'South Africa Breaks Out', Stiglitz explains why other countries should follow suit.
Why can't Australian citizens read the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement?
This Guardian article recorded that journalists were banned from a TPP briefing in Sydney. Some were eventually admitted, but only on the basis that the briefing was “off the record”.
Activist from El Salvador to speak at AFTINET's AGM
Guest Speaker: Vidalina Morales
Investor Rights to Sue and Gold Mining in El Salvador
Vidalina Morales is a small scale farmer and a mother of five from El Salvador. In 2006 she discovered that her community was under threat from the El Dorado mining project by Canada-based mining company, Pacific Rim. She is now recognised as one of the leading voices in the environmental defense movement in El Salvador.
After widespread community protest, the government in El Salvador suspended mining licences for environmental and public health reasons. Pacific Rim is now using investor-state dispute settlement in a trade agreement to sue the government because this legislation. An Australian company, Oceania Gold, has a major shareholding in the company. Vidalina will speak on behalf of anti-mining group La Mesa.
These are the same investor rights to sue that we are campaigning against in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and other trade agreements.