Yesterday Wikileaks posted 17 texts and documents from the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) negotiations (www.wikileaks.org/tisa). We reckon it is the largest leak from a so-called ‘trade’ negotiation ever – let alone one shrouded in even a greater level of secrecy than the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.
For those not familiar with this latest four letter acronym from the weird world of trade negotiations, TISA is a strategy of the US, EU and 22 other mainly rich countries, including New Zealand, to draft a new set of global rules for services transnationals to maximise their profits and minimise their regulation. They are trying to negotiate this among a self-selected group of fellow travellers after they were rebuffed in the World Trade Organisation.
All the background documents tabled during the TISA negotiations are supposed to be kept secret for five years after the deal comes into force or the last round of negotiations (the TPPA is four years). Given the countries involved that was never going to happen. Indeed, some governments at the TISA table are already ignoring their own pact and releasing their documents unilaterally.
I suspect that leaks will beget more leaks until they face the reality, as they had to with the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), and abandon their secrecy pact. There is a stocktaking meeting in Geneva early July, which would be the sensible time to do that. But sense doesn’t tend to prevail until the leaks have put their back against the wall.
The furore that has broken out internationally over the leaked documents is creating that momentum. They cover a wide range of services, from finance, post and transport to professional services and domestic regulation, which had got many affected sectors riled. The wikileak has also featured prominently in many mainstream media.
It hit the headlines in Turkey, Spain, Greece, Italy I am told. The Sydney Morning Herald, hardly a leftie rag, reported that the documents reveal ‘Australia is pushing for extensive international financial deregulation while other proposals could see Australians’ personal and financial data freely transferred overseas. The secret trade documents also show Australia could allow an influx of foreign professional workers and see a sharp wind back in the ability of government to regulate qualifications, licensing and technical standards including in relation to health, environment and transport services.’
Radio NZ Checkpoint gave good coverage here. The PM’s predictable response was to slag me off and then assure everyone: “We’ll make sure in the end that we do the best deal we can for New Zealand.” The TPPA mantra revisited … and they seem to have learned nothing from the fact their secrecy has made people more suspicious, not less.
As CTU economist Bill Rosenberg said: ‘We’d be up-in-arms if any legislation could be put into effect without us having any ability to have a serious look at what is in it.’
PSA has called on the Government to ‘come clean on New Zealand’s role in negotiating the secretive Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), which could remove New Zealanders rights to quality, well regulated public services.’
First Union general secretary Robert Reid described the negotiations as a backdoor to widespread deregulation. “This not only facilitates privatisation, but the deregulation of services and gives carte blanche to big financial institutions and multinational corporations to come in, buy up, charge what they like… without the Government having any say any more.
Just as growing numbers of Kiwis have challenged the back door dealings in the TPPA, we need them to send the same message over TISA and any other secret negotiation over which we are given no say.
Hehehehe….yes , its almost laughable just how anti democratic and certainly anti national sovereignty these two pieces of paper really are.
Reads like something out of the manual for Greedy Capitalists and Aspiring Dictators – with a whole chapter dedicated to ‘ how to subvert the nations and keep mum about it at the same time ‘ .
Well…we owe a lot to Wikileaks and Julian Assange .
One thing you’ve got to respect about these corporate globalists – they are determined.
But one minor thing always runs through my mind about these scurrilous characters…. just what were they thinking when they had to sing their own national anthem and see their own flag raised?
To live a life of total duplicity and disconnect …takes a certain type of breed..one who can not only lie about the supposed altruistic reasons for thinking that way…..but actually start to believe their own lies…more honest people would call them delusional individuals…others would simply call it for what it is :
Political ,economic and international treason.
It’s called psychopaths…remember ‘The Corporation’
Thanks for the ‘heads up’, Prof.Jane. I don’t want to be part of an ignorant and dis-empowered captive citizenry,subject to opaque results of closed door deals. I don’t want to be one of the apathetic sheeple. I want to be part of an invigorated and well informed democracy.
PLEASE, PLEASE read todays WAKE UP NEW ZEALAND. Denmark is 1st country to ban cash and have only card transactions.
An article about NZs bribing of arabs re live sheep deals, is alleging corruption by Murray Mc Cully, but we all believe he is covering for John Key,how much more sleeze does NZ have to put up with before Key is thrown out.
John Key probably knows if he can hang on until TPP is finalised,he will get away with it,because corporations will back him.
The pressure is heating up by corporations because the BRICs countries are aiming to get together to overcome the One World Order and our enslavement. Russia says they will make a fairer world for all concerned, that’s why Russia is being denigrated to make people think they are the problem they are not!!!!
Corporations are rushing to have TPP and other trade deals signed for their own benefit,plus pushing for card not cash transactions,to check on every cent we have and controlling our use of finance.
TPP is being lobbied through with many many lobbyists pushing people to sign agreement. This out and out bribery and corruption with the corporations pouring money in to get their own way.
Surely this form of corruption wouldnt get through if it wasn’t sanctioned from high up.
In NZ John key is part of the corruption, he knows whats in the TPP and is condoning it with his lies and secrets. He is a traitor to NZ, the National mps must surely know this,it will affect them and their families, Key uses his power to get mps to carry the can for him ,he has no scruples.please read the articles and see for yourself .
Yes – and unfortunately the card will be brought in to create the cashless society – however – it wont stop there.
Cards can be lost , stolen or damaged.
Which is all very convenient to bring in the next step , which – after fabricating another global or western financial crash ….
Is the introduction of the smart chip.
The smart chip has been around for years , … and has been used as registration for dogs and cats. However ,….it has also been used on humans in certain corporations….
But not on a large scale.
But the precursor to the smart chip is the cashless card system.
And 2 -3 months ago a Swedish company developed the chip further – its only 2-3 mm long – to be surgically inserted in a minor operation under ( believe it not ! ) the skin of the left back of the hand or – the forehead !
When that happens…not only will you become a walking credit card – complete with a number – but group’s like the five eyes spy network will know every purchase you make , where you made it , what you bought and what time you did it.
Along with how , where , when you paid that power bill ,that rent , those wages you received into your bank and basically , in short – everything.
The circle would then be complete.
Total surveillance .
I’m in favour of a cashless society as it allows us to catch the corruption more easily. But it needs to have strict access to the information held and that means that that information cannot be held by private corporations.
Only if we allow them to and we don’t but that will mean taking our government off of the corporations.
Yes – you are quite correct regarding corruption, however that is the very reason that will be used for introducing it. Particularly after another financial crash.
Such as we have seen since 2008.
And to actually trust not only govt (as we have seen so far with this one ) but actually those overseas as well eg: those planning the TTPA and TISA….would be a very precarious thing to do .
And somehow it doesn’t look like it will be an easy task to take a govt ‘off ‘ of the corporations- not on a global scale.
That’s the real issue here. Unfortunately.
I’m not trusting government. Rules and regulations can be hard-coded into a cashless society in such a way that would make it nearly impossible for government to break those rules.
Also, parliament isn’t government no matter how much they like to think they are. The people are and that’s a lesson that we all need to re-learn.
1. Nothing good is ever easy and
2. We don’t have to work on a global scale – only a local one.
A cashless society would be a disaster. It may make it more difficult for petty tax fraudsters but not impossible. They could just use silver coins or barter. The main reason the government wants a cashless society is because it would enable banks to avoid bank runs as they could keep your money if they get into difficulty. Hardly preventing corruption as you say just enabling corruption by the banks. The worst thing about a cashless society is that it is one more step to a very distasteful Orwellian future. Personally I would rather a few tradies getting away with minor tax crimes.
They can do that already as most ‘money’ in the system is digital money created by the banks.
Nope as the banks themselves won’t be able to touch the money as it would all be within government servers.
A few tax crimes that add up to around six billion dollars per year. It’s not just the tradies who are cheating the tax system.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. We can see that in the behaviour of Washington at the moment. A world of black or white, good or evil. This is the world where measures like a cashless society take us. Ok for awhile but when unscrupulous people gain power not so great
“Denmark is 1st country to ban cash and have only card transactions.”
Not quite, not yet. Denmark is moving to allow stores to accept only electronic money. Uber not-taxis always have, it seems.
http://fortune.com/2015/05/22/denmark-paper-money/
Yes, and all this while pushing for a new NZ flag. What will be the point if our nationhood is completely undermined by these iniquitous treaties?
>> “This not only facilitates privatisation, but the deregulation of services and gives carte blanche to big financial institutions and multinational corporations to come in, buy up, charge what they like… without the Government having any say any more.” <<
We've seen what happened to our mass media when it was deregulated, our publicly-owned media corporatized and effectively privatized (eg TVNZ), and private commercial media organisations bought up and financialized by corporate raiders like Oaktree Capital. Totally anti-democratic and manipulative practices like sacking John Campbell for speaking truth to power and holding them to account. We must find ways to reverse this sad trend, and prevent it affecting other areas of our public services.
John Key – If these trade deals are so good for New Zealand then why are they needing so much secrecy and to be hidden from the public ?
We need to further thank Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange and Glenn Greenwald for their work on exposing these secrets. Look forward to reading about the latest leaks and what they have learned from them regarding these sleezy trade deals. These above men as well as Jane Kelsey and other anti – TPPA leaders should be commended and thanked for their work and efforts. They are HEROS ! Those in jail or protective asylum should be released immediately.
New Zealanders sovereignty and rights are being slowly eroded away if these corporations and corporate owned governments and media have their way. The fight continues to stop their greedy madness and bring some sanity and justice and integrity to world trade.
Privatisation, also known as feudalism, has always been the problem and always will be.
John Key is a servant of Uncle Sam, well Wall street anyway. It is clear his agenda is to support the fascist, corporate, undemocratic, warmongering, United States of America at every turn. When will the public in western countries lift the veil of propaganda from their eyes and see that the USA is the most aggressive country in the world. It has been at war since it joined in WWII and now Russia and China have had enough. The secret trade pacts underway at present are a desperate bid by the fascists controlling USA to keep their dominant position in the world economy. They disseminate fear and terrorism in order to keep western populations subjugated by their mistaken beliefs that a military response to everything is necessary for their protection. We don’t need a new flag we need an honest government patriotic to NZ.
Thanks Jane. Keep up the great work. Labour and the Greens need to make it clear that any such deals signed by National that entail selling our sovereignty for the price of a few sacks of milk powder would be rejected immediately on election to office.
“Labour and the Greens need to make it clear that any such deals signed by National that entail selling our sovereignty for the price of a few sacks of milk powder would be rejected immediately on election to office” Byron
Not to piss on your parade bud but your lot ain’t got no muscle
There’s me doin my thing…..
https://r1016132.wordpress.com/2015/03/07/ttpa-read-my-lips-no/
From public enemy number 1….a ‘blue collar racist right-wing returned-serviceman redneck cracker’
Well…..Followed the link and see what you meant . Well done and thanks for the DB for what they did.
No doubting at all, I agree on your comment. Well put Wild Katipo.
Key has made NZ into a test case for his ego to climb the ladder of elitist’s in his secretive black ops’ “Bilderberg Club”.
He is wanting to be elevated to a senior member of that Bilderberg organisation as he pushes for absolute power and domination mixing with large sums of the money that came directly from people in the Illuminati, the Whitneys, the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers, and Chase Manhattan within that satanic cult.
It’s called Intimidation & fear he uses, and are standard everyday parts of their makeup and actions.
Sort of the counterpart to the saying there is no honour among thieves.
he is planning to become if one of the worst at it, if he can prove his dominance here at home, as then he will become one of the most influential members of that sect.
http://educate-yourself.org/mc/illumformula5Bchap.shtml
Well done Jane in bring ing this information, frightening as it
iSoon it will be Serco running our public services, who owns serCo.
New zealand always had a proud service of public servants, slowly but surely they are being eroded away.
we used to complain and fight against Muldoon, he was a pussy cat compared with Key and his cronies.
the cashless society is interesting, I read a margaret Atwood futuristic book, it happening now, people also screwed their computers into their heads
We must not give up, each rally we have had has been bigger, more and more people are seeing key for what he is, a money trader
Kelsey really does live in a world of paranoia. Hilarious!
You haven’t actually addressed any of the points Prof Kelsey has raised, Mark – just belittled her with a childish attack. I gather you have no answer to her argument then?
Did you get your bigger brother to help you look up the word ‘ Paranoia ‘ ?
So much for Key’s risable assertion that his government is the most transparent in our political history;
– http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11332789
Or from Bill English, that ours is the “most open” government ever.
– http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/260562/govt-%27the-most-open-nz-has-had%27
If the last six years of National were indeed the most “open” and “transparent” ever – why do Key and English feel the need to constantly tell that us this is so?
Because, in reality, this is a secretive government, run with covert agendas; secret deals behind closed doors; and nasty little henchmen to do dirtywork when the peasantry get toey…
Open and transparent?
Yeah, nah.
Only the the mid-night knocks on the door and being hustled into blacked-out vans (actually, SUVs, in the 21st century) by thuggish characters remains next on National’s “to do” list…
National Party b.s is remarkably efficient for patching up holes and leaks, and it comes with MSM guarantee.
Jane – can you clarify the link between the flag change, the bill of rights, treaty of Waitangi.
Is the treaty of Waitangi going to upset TPPA dealings, if it is signed?
Is the flag change attempt, an actual attempt to change to bill of rights, to make it an easier path for the TPPA?
How many leaks does it take to sink a dodgy ship? Ask Labour. The answer may not be far away!
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