AFTINET Interview on Late Night Live: "The air is thick with the fog of smoke"

AFTINET Convener, Dr. Patricia Ranald, and Dr. Kyla Tienhaara, Co-director of the Climate and Environmental Governance Network at ANU, were interviewed by Phillip Adams on the ABC Radio National Late Night Live about the Trans-pacific Partnership free trade agreement and Investor-State Dispute Settlements that have led to the current case of tobacco giant Phillip Morris suing the Australian government over plain packaging of cigarettes.

"Trade agreements have become a charter for corporations to write the rules on a global basis and this investor-state ability to sue governments is a key symptom of that." Patricia Ranald

"The history [of investor-state disputes] was a form of neo-colonialism, developed for western investments to be protected in developing countries." Kyla Tienhaara

"In trade agreements corporations bring all their lobbying power to bear...big companies want certain global rules for free trade and investment which suit them but are not necessarily in the public interest." Patricia Ranald

Listen to the broadcast

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/foreign-inves...