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hose of us concerned
about climate change should be equally concerned about the newly adopted
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The deal, negotiated and signed under a shroud of secrecy,
has 13 signatory-nations and has been described by Australia’s Prime Minister,
Malcolm Turnbull, as a “gigantic foundation stone” for the economy.
Mr Turnbull’s observation should alone be sufficient to make
nervous those uncomfortable about the world’s carbon dioxide emissions for the
TPP is blatantly about profit and growth; the driver of climate disruption.
Many heap praise on the Australian Government, and now the
new PM, for signing to the TPP, but few really know or understand the
implications,
And just today Mark Kenny wrote an analysis piece in the
Melbourne Age in which he said: “The devil is in the detail with the keenly
anticipated ‘text’ of the agreement still months away”.
Today’s Age looked
at nine aspects of the agreement and under “Environment” it said:
The good: Clampdown
of illegal wildlife trafficking, logging and fishing; pledge to maintain environmental
laws, and to cooperate to cut carbon emissions
The bad: Concern
that corporations have stronger litigation to fight tougher environmental laws,
including stepped up action on climate change.
The verdict: “It
means government won’t be bold and ambitious as they should be.” Kelly O’Shanassy, chair of the Australian Conservation Foundation.
Profit and growth is favoured ahead of the well-being of our
environment as we again have it back-to-front for, under the agreed TPP terms, we
are allowing corporations to effectively sue countries, including Australia,
for any actions they take to protect the environment that might impede, or
restrict a corporation’s profitability.
The previous PM, Tony Abbott, forever hummed the chorus
about Australia’s sovereignty and now under the hand of Trade Minister Andrew
Robb, to whom Mr Abbott had effectively given free reign, we have presented our
power on a platter to the world’s corporations.
Read the story in today’s Melbourne Age – “Malcolm Turnbull welcomes TPP as 'gigantic foundation stone'for economy”.
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