Garden Place protest against free trade agreement set for Saturday
A family friendly protest is planned for Garden Place this Saturday
Hamilton residents will gather in Garden Place this Saturday to protest against the Pacific rim free trade negotiations.
Organiser of the Hamilton protest, Kel Lee, said one of the greatest concerns is that the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA ) would give foreign companies the right to sue the Government for laws that could harm their investments.
“This would affect our carbon emissions scheme, water quality, agricultural water usage, dirty energy regulation, regulation of deep sea drilling, hazardous substance regulations and our GE free status will be compromised.”
The agreement could also affect access to affordable medicines and health care, food safety and tobacco and alcohol regulations.
Lee says TPPA negotiations are undemocratic as they are conducted in secret.
“This deal puts corporate rights above democracy, strips us of our power to create laws which could harm investor profit, and puts Kiwi businesses at a disadvantage.”
The Hamilton rally against the TPPA will be held at Garden Place starting at 1pm.
A family friendly afternoon of information, entertainment and peaceful protest is planned.
Nationwide protests against the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) are being planned for the same day with protests in all major cities.
The TPPA is officially described as a free trade agreement between New Zealand and 11 other nations on the Pacific Rim, including Japan, Australia and the USA.
.
