“We are not opposed to freeing up international trade, but we are concerned that without proper transparency, the TPP may lead to worse social and environmental outcomes.
“We are calling on the government to make public the text of the agreement, so we can properly assess its impact on Australia.
“From what little detail has been leaked, we are concerned over a provision allowing multinational corporations to challenge domestic regulations and court rulings before special tribunals.
“This could mean, for example, that if an Australian court decided that a mining project was environmentally hazardous and therefore should not be approved, a multinational backer could seek to overturn that decision in a special tribunal.
“The inclusion of so-called investor state dispute settlement clauses gives special legal rights to foreign investors, which could see our government being sued for, say, stopping the pollution of our rivers if these companies think it would undermine their profits.
“Transparency on this deal is long overdue, and until we can see this text, speculation about the benefits of the deal, and its possible problems, will continue.”
ENDS