The security of your family is threatened by the TPP

Rights that we take for granted in Australia are threatened under the TPP

So what has a boring acronym called the TPP got to do with the security of our growing families here in Australia?

Well, the world of corporate trade affects many parts of our growing families lives especially in an age of constantly expanding technology. While the government is releasing spun rhetoric in order to stop people from taking action against the TPP, it is important we stop and consider for ourselves the practical implications such a world-contract will have on our individual lives. Prices on some medications will rise 3 to 5 times their current price. We must take what the government says in the understanding that it only says what it says to protect its member's interests and as the Trans-Pacific-Partnership affects almost every industry in Australia and 40 percent of the world's economy; trade minister Andrew Robb as the government is abusing his ability to represent the Australian public. The word Minister means Servant - let's enforce his 'service'. Here are some key issues to be aware of:

The rise in the cost of pharmaceuticals. While the Australian government has released an official statement to say this is not the case - critics speak otherwise. Patents on an original drug will be made longer which means generic brands that reproduce crucial medications at a fraction of the cost will be unable to sell their product until these patents expire. Prices on some medications may rise 3 - 5 times. This has been included in the TPP because lobbyists from major pharmaceutical companies have paid millions of dollars to international government officials in order to ensure their private interests above that of the Australian public.

What information will be left to access freely under new intellectual property laws in the TPP?

Historical archives will be withdrawn from the public domain due to longer copyright restrictions on informations apparently 'owned' by big US conglomerates. We may be forced to pay for information that is otherwise made freely available on the internet. This will affect our culture in a big way because it restricts what information we are allowed to share publicly which puts a bulwark in our ability to communicate using ideas and texts from the past which in turn give us the ability to generate new ideas and create a better future for all more effectively. In addition some informations may simply be withheld for no good reason, as under intellectual property law it is the copyright holders right to do so. In an age of increasing communication and community oriented living this is a step back into the dark ages.

Under the TPP which corporate will be watching your every click?

Under the TPP corporations may be given rights to trawl meta-data (internet browsing history) of anyone with unlawfully obtained software of media in order to delve out massive fines and possibly prison sentences. Legislation for this has already been drafted in Australia and is just waiting for the right conditions to be signed in place. Information on learning about encryption (our right to protect our privacy) is actually being made unlawful in Australia (we can't even lawfully learn to protect ourselves) to work with this new legislation to enforce tougher copyright laws. With the information age and the abundance of information the corporations are pulling any trick they can to harness the communisation of information so it can be re-commodified effectively to maintain their profits. Australians may pay the price in Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.

Will we have to forfeit our right to protect our children from smoking?

Plain packaging of cigarettes has been a revolution in hindering this highly addictive legal substance from being sold in Australia. Recently, due to an international court clause in a treaty with Hong Kong (similar to clauses in the TPP), Philip morris cigarette company who resituated in Hong Kong, are in the process of sueing the Australian Government for hindering their profits of selling cigarettes. If we can't stand up for our own health and wellbeing in our own laws in our own country, we have to realise the way things are going are not good and unless we stand up and say 'NO' loud enough - nothing will change. The legal bill for this case is at 50 million dollars and counting - that's your tax money, wasted because of an international court dispute, due to some pen happy minister signing an agreement in 1984. Read more here - Big Tobacco puts countries on trial as concerns over TTIP deals mount. We are not a developing country, we aren't desperate for business with big-corporates - so why are we selling people for profit?

Your rights to healthy food and safe drinking water are threatened by GMO and corporate mining interests which could be protected by ISDS clauses in the TPP. See this related article for more information.

Is your work secure in a TPP signed world?

The amount of jobs available in Australia may decrease due to the rights multi-national corporations will receive to entirely move all production and facilities off shore to countries in the TPP where it is cheaper to produce the goods. In some areas of industry, things may get cheaper but inflation will rise and the Australian dollar will fall in comparison to other currencies because we haven't the grounding of actual local production of goods. So the 'woohoo' factor of cheaper commodities in some aspects will be re-balanced by the fall of the Australian dollar. Read more about the economic effects of the TPP here in an easy to understand adult cartoon.

These are some pretty important points to consider and we must realise that unless we stand, reach out and hold onto our freedom it IS going to be taken away from us.

Time to do something about it, join an action group near you, spread awareness, print some flyers, attend a rally, go here - you, we, I can do it!

Everyone else is doing it, why not us too? The reality is that most other countries are in the same boat and the governments do not represent the interests of the people in those countries, in assuming they do we have also assumed the people themselves are in agreeance. The people most definitely are not! Here is a video of a major protest against the TPP in New Zealand, who having faced recent economic difficulties are slightly more awake as to the economic abyss the Trans-Pacific-Partnership represents.