3 February 2016: The signing ceremony on February 4 in Auckland for the Trans-Pacific Partnership is mainly a public relations exercise, writes AFTINET Convener Dr Patricia Ranald for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Canberra Times
Read her full article here.
Sunday, May 3, 2015: Dr Patricia Ranald's article in the Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra Times and Melbourne Age supports release of trade agreement texts before they are signed and a Parliamentary vote on the whole text of trade agreements.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations have been widely criticised for their secrecy. Under the current process, the details of the deal were kept secret until after the text was agreed, and Cabinet, not Parliament makes the decision to sign the agreement. Parliament does not get to vote on the whole text, only on the implementing legislation.
For more information, see our explanation of the Australian process for trade agreements, and the Report of the Senate Inquiry into the trade agreement process, aptly called Blind Agreement.