EXCLUSIVE: Jane Kelsey – TPPA HAS NOT BEEN SIGNED. Crucial protest on 14 Nov

33
5

NZ-CORPORATE-FLAG

The fact many people think the TPPA is a done deal and there’s nothing we can do shows how effective the government’s propaganda campaign has been. That’s what they need people to believe so they can kill off one of the most effective public campaigns to oppose a core government policy for several decades. And they have done so despite conceding the deal would deliver almost none of the gains they made a bottom line, and keeping the text secret so no-one can categorically rebut the content or omissions in their ‘fact sheets’.

The truth is that the TPPA can’t be signed for at least another three months. Until then New Zealand has not been committed in any formal legal manner to the political deal. Even then, the country won’t be bound irrevocably to the TPPA for probably another two years.

This is no time for surrender or fatigue. Other countries are fighting to ensure the political price is too high for their governments to do so and that opposition parties make an uncompromising commitment to reject the still-secret deal. We need to do that here, starting with a mass turnout to the protests around the country, especially in Auckland and Wellington, on Saturday 14 November.

The Fast Track legislation said Obama must give 90 days’ notice before he can sign the TPPA. The text becomes public no longer than 30 days into that 90 days, which means two months to debunk the pro-TPPA lobby’s spin.

Obama has not given that 90 days’ notice yet. The officials have been in Japan doing what we call the ‘legal scrubbing’ of the text. That should be a purely technical task, but reports suggest there are many problems emerging about interpretations and some countries are only just finding out what others have agreed between themselves in side-letters.

The legal officials’ meeting has finished. They will try to sort out the remain issues by internet, but they are likely to have to meet again. The longer this takes, the further away those 90 days become and the more time we have to make it clear to the Key/Groser government that we don’t believe their snow job and will make any attempt to sign it politically toxic, and to the opposition parties that they have to take a stand.

33 COMMENTS

    • We are fighting against the TTP in America also! Everyday I send emails to our senators and representatives. We have made the mistake of allowing corporations to run government. I wish your government common sense and your citizens the best of luck!

  1. Thankyou Jane..
    The definitive article calling out this government’s spinners obfuscators and dismal dodgy deal doublespeakers..
    Let’s use it..
    Let’s begin with the players and the winners who would never have settled for less than GOLD for NZ..
    Right in the middle of the ABs well deserved welcome home parade a Nov 14th TPPa Not signed yet. Not over yet flyer blitz….
    Who’s up for that?
    See website for flyers..

    😉

  2. That you Jane, for being one of the few prominent NZ ‘academics’ who is willing to publically stand up and be counted!

    As a student, I constantly notice that my lecturers and professors are saying similar things, but only within the ‘safe’ environment of the lecture hall or campus. Very few are willing to stand up and be counted, in the manner of the great French ‘intellectuals’ of the 20th century, eg. Foucault and Bourdieu.

    NZ desperately needs more people like you, Jane.

    • the fact that she’s one of the “few academics” fighting against TPPA could be to do with her colleagues having a more sensible view.

      Most people understand that trading with the world is the best way for a small country like ours.

      Jane lives in an echo chamber , and perhaps she should spend more time doing what she’s paid for.

      On the other hand every minute she’s screaming from the rafters she isnt indoctrinating her long suffering students.

      • Everyone understands that trading with with the world is the best way for a small country MARKM. That is neither the issue nor in dispute. Also, childish insults are a little unimaginative and a bit ‘yesterday’ when debating issues on social media. Try and lift your game if possible.

  3. Thankyou Jane..
    The definitive article calling out this government’s spinners obfuscators and dismal dodgy deal doublespeakers..
    Let’s use it..
    Let’s begin with the players and the winners who would never have settled for less than GOLD for NZ..
    Right in the middle of the ABs well deserved welcome home parade a Nov 14th TPPa Not signed yet. Not over yet flyer blitz….
    Who’s up for that?
    See website for flyers..

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/11/02/exclusive-jane-kelsey-tppa-has-not-been-signed-crucial-protest-on-14-nov/#comment-311618

  4. +100

    Is there anything recommended to do while we wait for the txt?

    Also I think that one of the most important things would be if Labour decided to say a clear NO to TPP rather than the weird flip flops. Yes, No, maybe, Helen’s keen…. etc

    Getting Andrew Little on board I think would be a big plus to the public campaign and also get him some votes!

    The both left and right wingers are against TPP!

  5. After seeing the move Fire in the Blood about the Big Pharma and the deals in the USA and hearing the warnings of what is to come, we are more committed than ever.
    After the film a public health doctor spoke and told us of his concerns about the TPPA, we must do more, we can not give up because we think it is over. Is not over, be one of the people who come on the 14th November to make your voice heard, we do not want the TPPA and the result of it. No good is going to come to the citizens of New Zealand.
    The film showed how India had made cheaper drugs for Aids to go to Africa, it was all working well and many less people were dying. Big Pharma did not like this, so they stopped India from selling the cheaper (excellent working drugs) to Africa so they could continue selling their very expensive drugs.
    The scenes of the doctors having to choose from the crowded waiting room the 1 or 2 who could get the drugs were terrible to watch.
    If you can see the movie do so, if you do there is no way you will not be at the march on the 14 November.

  6. John Campbell’s stellar expose of Apple Inc.’s tax theft from New Zealand may give us a heavy hint about the undisclosed part of the TPP’s intellectual property clauses. http://www.radionz.co.nz/programmes/first-person/story/201776580/first-person-with-john-campbell-apple's-high-ideals-and-low-tax-bill

    “for the financial year ending 27 September 2014, Apple New Zealand had revenue of $568 million and paid tax of only $6.8 million”

    It appears that Apple claimed deductions of roughly 97% of its income in New Zealand last year, spent on “costs of doing business”. But despite serious efforts, which included talking to an Apple official (difficult to find!) Campbell could find no Apple office at all, and no itemization of NZ expenditures.

    An OECD representative explained that one common tax dodge is to assign ownership of important intellectual property (like say Apple’s operating systems) to a place that will tax those profits lightly, if at all. The income from New Zealand is officially sent offshore to an Apple subsidiary to pay for the use of the intellectual property on their machines here. Woops, almost no profit in NZ, so almost no tax.

    Wanna bet that heavy protections for such a use of “intellectual property” are built into the still-secret parts of the TPP? While we agonize over more easily understood issues like the length of copyright and other secondary matters.

    Everyone should do a little mental math (not on your Mac or iPhone!), on the tax avoided on the $568 million by sending it overseas – quite legally. To apply the corporate tax rate to whatever part of that would remain after only honest deductions, make a guess at their real expenses and divide by 3. Lessee . . . say their stuff really cost a bit under 50% of their sales income, that’s 1/3 of almost $300 million, or about $25 for every one of 4 million Kiwis. Whether they buy an Apple or not, that’s how much tax the government couldn’t collect from an overseas business dong business here, so that’s $25 each that we all had to pay in some other taxes, or as debt to be paid with future taxes.

    And my bet is that the TPP will stop us from ever being able to go after that tax dodge.

  7. If National say ‘its right’ – it must be SO WRONG!
    Looking forward to the march! TPPA, taking people’s power away!
    Thanks Jane for letting us know the truth.

  8. Noticed that there is a joint Nations military exercise, including USA in Westport at the moment and the main reason one of the high-ups gave for it was ‘protests getting out of hand….that the police can’t handle’

    Is this to intimidate any TPPA protests now, or when a corporate body sues NZ for loss of profits?

    Interesting timing, about as coincidental that John Key attended an EEC meeting just before the Rugby World Cup final.

    • Great work Jane you angel, we need to know what has been done behind closed doors when it signs away our rights to Multi-national corporations, and so far many people are mistrusting of Key and his colluders due to secret deals going on.

      Our family will be there in our region on n 14th and why not every month from now?

      Winnie that was a good piece of information about a military exercise being carried out around West Port and coincide with rising unrest in the region.

      Now the junta is running the country????????

      Key would love to be a dictator and have the Army do his dirty work, like Fiji perhaps???

  9. Thank you Jane. Your hard work is greatly appreciated. Keep up the fight, there are many many thousands who are with you!

  10. Thanks Jane ! and I would be there if I were not so far away. I am regularly active in many ways against TPPA and we need to up our level no matter what the burn out or dismay that may exist.

    We can also txt. and email messages to others outside our country as well and should not be limited to only active work here in NZ.

    We are fighting greed and stupidity and thank goodness we question them and question all authority with a fever pitch. Again, Jane, you are appreciated and thanks again for your vigilant fight for what is right.

  11. Go Jane, thank you for speaking out. Wish more people in you position had the guts to do the same. Roll on 14 November. Will be there in Hamilton (NZ)

  12. Where will the auckland rally be held?? I’m sure many people will attend if we can find out some solid detail on protesting.

  13. What illegal nonsense.

    1)The verified TPPA document hasn’t been disclosed to effected parties ergo it is not an agreement or contract.

    2)The TPPA hasn’t been negotiated by effected parties IE the people of NZ.
    3)The TPPA is void and has nothing of substance but the incorrect belief spread by controlled opposition that if the TPPA is signed it is a legal binding contract.
    4) John Key (and most of the MP’s) work for the UN and not for the people of NZ that is why the govt sold public assets and privatized after protests and unanimous non consent for the asset sales.
    5)If an elected official signs the TPPA on behalf of the people of NZ (and it gives sovereignty to the Banking cabal’s corporations) it is treason.

    For who do you think legally can make an undisclosed contract binding, bind the nation to its loss of nationhood and sovereignty?

    The govt already works for the banking cabal who own the mega corporations behind the TPPA.
    The elephant seen here is being obstructed by controlled opposition.

  14. Send tons of emails and call the Labour Party and voice our descent and disapproval of TPPA. They need the pressure big time right now.

    Checkout — sumofus.org

Comments are closed.