4 MARCH 2016

TPPA Debate Being Muzzled

The government is stacking the scales in favour of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and stifling the debate, says New Zealand First Leader and Northland Member of Parliament Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“We’ve had six years of secrecy when the TPPA was being negotiated and now a government-dominated TPPA committee wants to railroad the process and limit comments on it to just 15 days.

“It’s undemocratic.

“The prime minister said when he signed the TPPA that it was about the future of New Zealand and that we had to drive it together.

“How can that happen when the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade committee want to restrict comments, block the debate and get the legislation through the House as quickly as they can?

“Because the TPPA is a large and detailed document of 6000 pages, the committee should be allowing the public sufficient time to produce the best submissions they can.

“Instead of this, the public are being muzzled so the government can expedite the TPPA,” Mr Peters says.

ENDS

© Scoop Media