by Gareth Hughes
This weekend, the Key Government is yet again putting our country’s sovereignty on the line by signing up to the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in Japan.
Until recently, this international agreement had been negotiated entirely in secret despite huge concerns about sovereignty and copyright law. However, active campaigning and a great deal of leaked documents has opened up the process somewhat.
More openness has helped create a final version of the agreement that is an improvement on previous drafts, but the process has still been undemocratic and opaque. Trade deals like these must be open to the public and be able to be scrutinised by Parliament.
ACTA was developed by the US and Japan, and countries expected to sign it include Australia, Canada, the EU, South Korea, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore and Switzerland. The Mexican Senate has voted against signing and the European Greens have raised important questions on its compatibility with EU privacy laws.
Back home, there are still many important questions that remain unanswered. The Government hasn’t said anything since April so I’ve written a letter to Foreign Minister Murray McCully asking: who will represent New Zealand at the signing ceremony in Japan on Saturday? Will New Zealand sign the final document immediately or will this be delayed until 1 May 2013? Will the final document be tabled or debated in Parliament? What will be the impacts of signing ACTA on New Zealand? And, lastly, what are the benefits of signing this agreement?
I hope the Minister can respond before the signing ceremony and that Parliament will have a role. The real threat on the horizon however is the looming Trans-Pacific Partnership currently under negotiation. Unlike ACTA, it hasn’t been opened up to wider scrutiny and remains very secretive. Without openness and wider input, there is a great risk the TPP will end up infringing on New Zealanders in a very negative way for little return.
Published in Justice & Democracy by Gareth Hughes on Wed, September 28th, 2011
Tags: ACTA, copyright, foreign affairs
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on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
I thought this government was into the whole neoliberal ‘rational choice’ schtick. That requires actors to make rational decisions with *perfect information*. Where’s our information, John?
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What I want to know is who is this really benefiting? Seems that in any deal like this, it’s those with big money that benefit the most. In my opinion, it’s probably the big multinational multimedia companies who are the real drivers of this treaty.
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