National mobilisation against TPPA on Saturday 29 March: 15 towns & cities

A national day of action to stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement will take place on Saturday 29 March 2014.

Local communities in at least fifteen New Zealand cities and towns will host marches and rallies to express opposition to the secrecy of the TPPA negotiations and the potential threat it poses to our national sovereignty and te Tiriti o Waitangi.

This is in an unprecedented groundswell of public concern over such an agreement, Its Our Future spokesperson Edward Miller said.

It follows a campaign in late 2013 to oppose the secrecy of the TPPA, where 26,000 signatures or letters called for release of the draft text. Last month the Labour, Greens, NZ First, Mana and Maori parties made similar demands.

Protests are being organised in Hokianga, Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton, Taranaki, Tauranga, Whanganui, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Geraldine, and Invercargill, with several more being finalised.

The national day of action is being coordinated by Its Our Future, and is supported by the Green, New Zealand First, Maori and Mana parties. Formal sponsors include Oxfam, Greenpeace and the Council of Trade Unions, a number of individual trade unions and organisations. Many more are distributing information through their networks.

Background

The TPPA is a mega-deal that has been under negotiation for four years. Twelve countries are currently involved: the US, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, NZ, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

The documents are all secret, aside from leaked texts. But enough is known to show that it could impact on a broad range of life, from Pharmac and the Internet, give foreign investors the rights to sue the government over tighter mining laws or tobacco control, prevent Buy Kiwi rules for local and central government, stop the establishment of new SOEs, such as Labour’s proposed KiwiAssure, and more.

Ends

© Scoop Media