2015-11-08
Today during the plenary session of the Australian Greens national conference, Greens party members have unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Chinese-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA).
The motion reads, “That the Greens: (a) oppose the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and similar deals that are negotiated in secret, empower corporations to sue governments, or that threaten Australia’s labour, health or environment laws; and (b) call on the Australian parliament to reject the TPPA and the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.”
Greens spokesperson for Trade, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson has welcomed this resolution from the party membership who feel strongly about these dangerous and undemocratic trade agreements.
Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Today the members of the Australian Greens have spoken with one voice in opposing these anti-democratic, pro-corporation deals that threaten Australia’s ability to make laws in the public interest.
“While other parties have members that raise concerns about these deals, the Greens are the only party to listen to their members and actually use their position in parliament to try to vote them down.
“The Greens brought a private members bill to the Senate to have these dangerous 'Trojan Horse' Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clauses banned from trade deals.
“The senate inquiry into this legislation heard from a broad group of stakeholders in support of this ban on the basis that evidence shows ISDS clauses add nothing to free trade and pose a risk to national sovereignty.
“Investor-State Dispute-Settlement clauses are a cancer on our democracy and fundamentally shift the power balance between the public and private interest in favour of the corporation.
“The Greens will never vote to pass a trade agreement that puts our democracy up for ransom through these dangerous clauses,” he concluded.