Eden Monaro poll: The massive trade deal half of Australia hasn’t even heard about
Announcement posted by GetUp! 25 Jun 2015
Overnight the huge Trans Pacific Partnership global trade deal was approved for fasttrack by the US Senate, yet a new poll shows half of Australia’s voters haven’t even heard of it.
ReachTEL polling, commissioned by GetUp, shows that three quarters of voters in Eden Monaro are somewhat or very concerned that the text has not been released by the government.
Peter Reid, a resident of Eden Monaro, said he was very concerned about the secrecy surrounding the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations.
“The fundamental tenets of democracy disappear when corporations run countries, and the world,” he said.
“We vote for politicians. We don't vote for the boards of corporations. When politicians kowtow to businesses, we are in trouble.”
Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions believed to be included in the text of the TPP could result in foreign-owned corporations suing Australian Governments.
Two-thirds of voters are opposed to giving foreign-owned companies avenues to take legal action against Australian laws made by federal and state governments. Less than one in 10 voters support the measure.
Most (76 per cent) are either somewhat or very concerned the text has not been released - especially considering Andrew Robb has said “we are literally one week of negotiation away from completing” the text of the deal.
More than half of all voters are already very concerned about the price of medicine increasing. Organisations like Médecins Sans Frontières warn that if pharmaceutical patents are extended under the TPP it will increase the cost of medicine.
This follows yesterday’s scathing Productivity Commission report, which said it would grant legal rights to foreign investors not available to Australians and expose the government to potentially large unfunded liabilities.
Kelsey Cooke, GetUp’s Head of Campaigns, said: “Such a massive deal should be open for public scrutiny.”
“It’s deeply worrying that Australia looks set to sign away our hard fought legal checks and balances, without most of the population even knowing it’s happening,” she said.
“This deal puts the interests of massive multinational companies ahead of Australians, even ahead of our courts. It’s unprecedented. Even John Howard wouldn’t allow trade agreements like this to be made with the United States.”
As federal representatives head home to their electorates for the winter break, they should expect to hear from concerned local residents.
GetUp's Head of Campaigns Kelsey Cooke is available for comment.
Full poll results for Eden Monaro are available here: getup.org.au/tpp-eden-monaro-polling
Broader polling for the electorates of Goldstein (VIC), Petrie (QLD), Barton (NSW), Reid (NSW), Dobell (NSW) and Capricornia (QLD) is also available: http://www.getup.org.au/tpp-reachtel-poll-june-2015
GetUp’s explainer video on the TPP has been viewed more than a million times across Facebook and YouTube: http://www.getup.org.au/tpp-video
ReachTEL polling, commissioned by GetUp, shows that three quarters of voters in Eden Monaro are somewhat or very concerned that the text has not been released by the government.
Peter Reid, a resident of Eden Monaro, said he was very concerned about the secrecy surrounding the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations.
“The fundamental tenets of democracy disappear when corporations run countries, and the world,” he said.
“We vote for politicians. We don't vote for the boards of corporations. When politicians kowtow to businesses, we are in trouble.”
Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions believed to be included in the text of the TPP could result in foreign-owned corporations suing Australian Governments.
Two-thirds of voters are opposed to giving foreign-owned companies avenues to take legal action against Australian laws made by federal and state governments. Less than one in 10 voters support the measure.
Most (76 per cent) are either somewhat or very concerned the text has not been released - especially considering Andrew Robb has said “we are literally one week of negotiation away from completing” the text of the deal.
More than half of all voters are already very concerned about the price of medicine increasing. Organisations like Médecins Sans Frontières warn that if pharmaceutical patents are extended under the TPP it will increase the cost of medicine.
This follows yesterday’s scathing Productivity Commission report, which said it would grant legal rights to foreign investors not available to Australians and expose the government to potentially large unfunded liabilities.
Kelsey Cooke, GetUp’s Head of Campaigns, said: “Such a massive deal should be open for public scrutiny.”
“It’s deeply worrying that Australia looks set to sign away our hard fought legal checks and balances, without most of the population even knowing it’s happening,” she said.
“This deal puts the interests of massive multinational companies ahead of Australians, even ahead of our courts. It’s unprecedented. Even John Howard wouldn’t allow trade agreements like this to be made with the United States.”
As federal representatives head home to their electorates for the winter break, they should expect to hear from concerned local residents.
GetUp's Head of Campaigns Kelsey Cooke is available for comment.
Full poll results for Eden Monaro are available here: getup.org.au/tpp-eden-monaro-polling
Broader polling for the electorates of Goldstein (VIC), Petrie (QLD), Barton (NSW), Reid (NSW), Dobell (NSW) and Capricornia (QLD) is also available: http://www.getup.org.au/tpp-reachtel-poll-june-2015
GetUp’s explainer video on the TPP has been viewed more than a million times across Facebook and YouTube: http://www.getup.org.au/tpp-video