Xmas and the TPP are just around the corner ...

(Above: winner of an NZ cartoon competition on the occasion of the TPP negotiations, held in secrecy at Sky City in Auckland in December 2012, here)

You can always rely on the crony commentariat to talk hysterically about the United Nations, international conspiracies, black helicopters, climate scientists in league with Satan, and so on and so forth ...

What rarely crosses the radar are negotiations which have been conducted in secrecy by the federal Labor government, and which will now continue to be conducted in secrecy by the new federal Liberal government.

It's been going on for three years, and it's a trade treaty called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the next round of talks will take place in Bali in December.

Now the new Liberal government has already shown a taste for furtive secrecy, dissembling lies, and a complete willingness to betray election promises.

Which isn't a good omen for Bali, which as Choice noted, might have major implications for Australians, if only we knew what had been negotiated and agreed:

There’s a lot at stake across many key issues facing Australian consumers today. Reports have suggested that the TPP could allow overseas corporations to sue our government for making laws on behalf of the Australian people. 
This could prevent its ability to make decisions on food labelling, public health, energy, copyright and more! But because the text of the agreement won’t be public until the treaty is signed, consumer groups and the public are being shut out of the process. (here, for a petition)

The agreement won't be public until the treaty is signed ...

How do you like those negotiating eggs?

So where are the outraged howls from the crony commentariat?

Where's the shouting from the rooftops about the approaching WTO TPP black helicopters?

Well the pond is, as always, ready to embrace the Chicken Little school of commentary writing.

Why not have a read of Investor-State Dispute Resolution: The Monster Lurking Inside Free Trade Agreements?

Take a look at The Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Threat to Global Public Health.

Brood about the details contained in UNCTAD publishes its annual review of investor-State dispute settlement cases.

Check out Joseph E. Stiglitz scribbling South Africa Breaks Out.

Take a gander, or a geek, at Another Reason to hate TPP: It Gives Big Content New Tools to Undermine Sane Digital Rights Policies.

Greg Hunt will, of course be scouring the wiki on the Trans-Pacific Partnership because it's one of the few ways of finding out what might be going on  ...

You won't find anything about this emerging from the Australian government - it's secret don't ya know, and they love their secrets, and you won't find anything emerging from the crony commentariat, because the Murdochians and News Corp are hoping that the TPP will help swing things their way ...

The pond would like to be alarmed, and would like to alarm others ... if only it knew what was being alarmed about ... unless of course you find it alarming and bizarre that ...

The agreement won't be public until the treaty is signed ...

Frivolous alarmism you say?

But it's exactly this sort of negotiation that big tobacco has employed in its war against the Australian government's plain packaging legislation.

Back in June 2011 Philip Morris International announced that it would use the investor-state dispute settlement provisions in the Australia-Hong Kong Bilateral Investment treaty (BIT0 to demand compensation for Australian's legislation (go on Greg Hunt, read the wiki here, or go to your ABC here).

This isn't a party political issue involving a left-right split. Both sides of the house are up to their neck in it ...

So let's see how the mainstream media and the crony commentariat handle this challenge.

Like Xmas, December and the TPP negotiations are just around the corner ...

(Below: the online winner of the NZ cartoon competition)