MEDIA RELEASE, September 24, 2015

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiators are meeting from September 26 ahead of a TPP Trade Ministers meeting from September 30 in Atlanta, Georgia in a desperate final attempt to reach a deal this year, AFTINET has sought a meeting with Prime Minister Turnbull to advocate that Australia should not agree to stronger monopolies on biologic medicines, draconian copyright rules on the Internet and to foreign investor rights to sue governments for damages over domestic legislation (ISDS). 

MEDIA RELEASE  September 18, 2015

“Trans-Pacific negotiators plan to meet from September 26 before TPP Ministers meet from September 30 in in Atlanta, Georgia in a desperate final attempt to reach a deal this year,” Dr Patricia Ranald, Coordinator of the Australian Fair Trade and investment Network said today. 

September 14, 2015 Peter Martin, The Age economics editor, says the government has multiplied by 20  the number of jobs which might be created by the China FTA.

September 14, 2015: Copyright expert Kimberlee Weatherall argues in Crikey that Australia's copyright rules adopted in the Australia-US FTA  are so detailed, prescriptive and, in many cases, technology specific, copyright law has become harder to adjust when business models or technology change. This should not be repeated and made even worse in the TPP.

. See Sen Peter Whish-Wilson's article in The Guardian of September 11, 2015

September 14, 2015 See  the satirical new 45-second video/ TV ad from GetUp  on how TPP proposals to allow global corporations to sue governments for billions of dollars over health and environmental laws could affect you and your family.

September 9, 2015: The Prime Minister's claim in Parliament that  the China FTA allows " no possibility of placing any foreigner in an Australian job without labour market testing"  was flatly contradicted by the evidence of a senior officer from  Department of Immigration and Border Protection to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties on September 7 .

September 3, 2015: the Sydney Morning Herald reports that ALP Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is sticking to his criticism that China FTA does not require testing for local workers for projects over $150 million, despite government denials. Associate Prof Stuart Rosewarne and migration law expert Joanne Howe writing in The Drum agree with this criticism after analysing both the text of the agreement and the government’s response.

Over one hundred and fifty senior Australian academics and others with expertise in public health and medicine have called on Trade Minister Andrew Robb to remain firm in his resolve to protect health and the environment in negotiations on the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

The letter was initiated by the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) following concerns that some of the gains made by the Minister could be traded for sugar or some other commodity. see the media release here

Large protests were held at the China FTA Joint Standing Committee on Treaties parliamentary hearings in  Melbourne, Perth and Devonport last week. ALP Opposition Leader Bill Shorten pledged to amend the implementing legislation in the Senate.