Greens spokesperson for Trade, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson says the decision by TransCanada to sue the United States Government for $15 billion in damages using the Investor-State Dispute settlement provisions in NAFTA over the Keystone pipeline decision puts global climate action at risk and also serves as a warning for Australia to not ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Greens spokesperson for Trade, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson welcomes Australia’s victory in the Investor-State Dispute-Settlement (ISDS) case against Phillip Morris over plain packaging laws.

“Plain packaging has proven to be an effective public policy tool to reduce smoking rates in Australia. Unfortunately as a nation we have signed up to trade and investment treaties that have given corporations the right to sue us for making laws that might impinge on a foreign corporation’s profits.

Today during the plenary session of the Australian Greens national conference, Greens party members have unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Chinese-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA).

The House ranking Democrat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, Congressman Sander Levin has begun a process to review the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement and has left open the possibility of changing the Agreement saying “The upcoming 90-day period was established to facilitate an intensive and informed debate over the merits of TPP as negotiated, as well as the necessity for any modifications to the agreement, before the agreement is signed

Greens spokesperson for Trade, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, says now the text has finally been released stakeholders and the community will at last get the chance to scrutinise it, but only after it is too late to change any of it.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “We will be looking closely at the details and consulting with stakeholders to examine the implications of the fine print. The text is 6000 pages long and full of technical and legal jargon.

“So far, we have heard from stakeholders that our greatest concerns have been validated.

Greens Trade spokesperson Senator Peter Whish-Wilson and Employment & Workplace Relations spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today said Labor has caved into the government on the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “This is a second-rate agreement created by a fundamentally flawed trade process.

The Greens spokesperson for Trade, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, says that Labor’s proposed Migration Act amendments do not provide sufficient protections for workers, nor are they are a justification for passing this deal.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “If we had an open and inclusive trade treaty process the passing of ChAFTA into legislation would not be in such a political mess.

Malcolm Turnbull and Andrew Robb have done what John Howard and Mark Vaile refused to do: Via the TPP they have granted US corporations to the right to sue the Australian government over making laws in the public interest.

“The United States pushed hard for the inclusion of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions in the 2004 US Free Trade Agreement but then Australia refused.

Greens spokesperson for Trade, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, is calling on Labor to refuse to pass the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) while it still contains an open-ended Investor-State Dispute-Settlement (ISDS) provision.

Today on morning radio, the Labor Shadow Treasurer, Chris Bowen, said, “We want to see the China Free Trade Agreement implemented… Those concerns can be dealt with by the Government… They don't need to reopen the agreements, the agreement with China. They don't need to go back to Beijing and renegotiate.”

The Greens spokesperson for Trade, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson says that the impending China trade deal will allow Chinese private and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to sue the Australian government over public interest legislation that affects their investment.