The GreenplanetFM Podcast with Tim Lynch

Patricia Ranald, PhD of Sydney, Australian spokesperson for the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network.Interviewed on the underlying challenges of the secret TPPA, the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and how it could adversely affect Australia.(And NZ). The TPPA originally started with NZ, Brunei, Singapore and Chile, but they have since been joined by the US and Australia and five other countries. US corporations are  setting the agenda. Australian civil society groups want the TPPA text to be made public and debated in Parliament before Government signs any agreement. Why? Because they already have a Free Trade deal with the USA. They have had no economic benefit and are importing more from America than they export. For example, Australian sugar farmers did not get any additional access to US markets. The US wants to include in the TPPA special rights for foreign investors to sue governments for damages in international tribunals if a law or policy harms their investment. This can undermine democr