Meanwhile, here in Nuclear Free NZ the complacency that has held us at arms length from what is happening around our planet is starting to affect us more
\n as money remains tight, holding ones job becomes a priority and that unemployment continues to trend upward.<\/p>\n
Whilst at the same time NZ's clean green environmental credentials are being examined with even greater scrutiny as Fukushima in Japan, disgorges its
\n radio active bowels into the atmosphere and ocean, and virtually all scientists worried by job tenure zip their collective mouths closed.<\/p>\n
While certain export industries continue to do well from our fecund rural, primary sector, and the housing market particularly in Auckland's expanding
\n bubble gives rise for a certain amount of optimism, what ever happens in America and Europe certainly will have a cascading effect on us here around
\n the curve in Aotearoa NZ.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile NZers are ... (maybe) finally awakening to what the TPPA is possibly all about.<\/p>\n
Yes, the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement that was originally agreed upon by just NZ, Singapore, Brunei and Peru, back in 2005 has grown into a larger
\n and more complex Pacific rim trade group, that has now been usurped by American corporations. Having wrestled power away from the American people by
\n dominating virtually all areas of policy within the United States, these same corporations are starting to take control of this trading group and doing
\n it under a shady cloud of secrecy.<\/p>\n
The fact that NZers and citizens of every other country who are signing up to this expanded agreement, have no idea what they will be signing up to,
\n is ringing alarm bells in the slumbering communities across all of the countries involved … as they realize that this is more of a 'controlling
\n operation' than a trade deal. NZers are belatedly finding out that when signed, this TPPA will not be ratified in our democratically elected Parliament,
\n but instead will be only signed off by the Cabinet that are all hand picked by Prime Minister John Key. There will be no debate.<\/p>\n
The fact that our sovereignty is being signed away is startling more and more of the young of this country, these are the ones who have not been ensnared
\n by the currency of glamour, celebrity, scandal and circuses, which is how the mainstream media distracts us from the issues of the day and our collective
\n future, that by repetitive titillation and innuendo, they endeavor to keep us off-centre and ungrounded in reality. We need to stay very focussed and
\n real.<\/p>\n
What is up for grabs!:<\/p>\n
Of the 29 discrete sections or chapters proposed for the TPPA, only five deal with trade as we traditionally understand it. The others deal with process
\n and criteria in relationship to regulating the domestic economy, giving more lax controls on corporations that want to pursue and exploit loop holes
\n in virtually all strata's of governance, banking, importing, employment, law and ecological standards. The loosening of criterion are perceived as
\n the same shoddy approaches that gave us leaky buildings, finance company collapse and Pike River's mining tragedy, but also NZs ecological descent
\n to be running at 162nd in our environmental performance out of 180 countries globally.<\/p>\n
Because a huge number of issues around the TPPA will be decided by secret tribunals overseas, if the Corporations have to fight to gain access to NZ's
\n markets, especially against the will of the NZ people and even our Government, then NZers will need to get savvy fast as to the consequences of such
\n a battle to retain our sovereignty. It could coast us mega billions.<\/p>\n
Signing this undisclosed agreement will effectively pull the rug out from underneath NZ's cherished democracy and this is also happening in Australia
\n too, where tobacco Corporations are taking the Australian Government to one of these secret tribunals because the Australians want to inhibit the labeling
\n on cigarette packets as to safeguard their children.<\/p>\n
There are a whole range if issues, or disciplines that are on the table and effect the very fabric of our daily existence.<\/p>\n
Ranging from GM labelling as well as country of origin of food, construction projects and who oversees them, and are they NZ workers or imported overseas
\n labour, plus water quality, and who owns the water i.e Franklin, Papakura, Ruapehu, Thames-Coromandel, Waitomo, Wellington and Queenstown lakes are
\n already controlled by Veolia which is the water division of the French company Veolia Environment the world's largest supplier of water services.<\/p>\n
Also, local government zoning, see how Auckland super city came into being with-out a plebiscite, when it was mandated that legally we as rate payers
\n were entitled to one. Health and safety standards - see Pike River. The age-care industry, where many facilities are owned by major multinational companies.
\n A Consumer magazine article put the numbers at 58 facilities for Oceania Care Group (owned by Macquarie Bank (AU)), 45 facilities run by Bupa Care
\n Services (owned by Bupa UK), 22 facilities owned by Radius Residential Care (Kuwait Finance House), 21 owned by Ryman Healthcare (Garlow Management
\n (Canada) and Ngai Tahu Capital), 17 owned by Metlifecare (JP Morgan Nominees, FKP, and Macquarie Investment Holdings, 16 for Ultimate Care Group and
\n 12 for Summerset Care. According to Bupa, 33% of the beds available nationally are provided by the largest six players.<\/p>\n
In the not-for-profit sector, the main players are Presbyterian Support, responsible for 33 facilities, the Selwyn Foundation and Christian Healthcare
\n Trust which have eight facilities each. (Lets encourage local Trusts and keep all monies in NZ).<\/p>\n
Then there are toxic financial products, with overseas corporations angling for a slice of our immature market. Remember our NZ Finance Company collapses,
\n that since 2007 there have seen 67 companies fail putting $9 billion in deposits at risk and much more. How can a country of just over 4 million people
\n sustain such losses?<\/p>\n
When we sell our farms, we are selling the ground beneath our feet. These details below are drawn from the Real Estate Institute monthly reports for
\n November 2012, and focus only on farm sales - excluding lifestyle blocks.<\/p>\n
The market recorded 131 sales, which is about 7% higher than November last year and about 43% above the average over the past four years. These farms
\n are not small, some covering well over thousands of hectares. Figures released by the Overseas Investment Office show that 872,313 hectares of gross
\n land have been sold to foreign interests over the past five years<\/p>\n
The top buyers were the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Israel. The United States had 194 purchases for a total of 193,208ha.<\/p>\n
The figures do not show if there are any New Zealand ownership shares involved. If you don't think that this is much, try counting to 872,000.<\/p>\n
When NZers, watching telly every night, squabbling over the remote and wanting to see who is going to win the game, do not face up to what has happened
\n and is happening - how will we stop the flood gates if\/when we sign the TPPA?<\/p>\n
The TPPA can be seen as Taking Peoples Power Away and it is.<\/p>\n
This is not a left or right political polemic, but one of democratic principles, of transparency, openness, and fair play. The pittance of $2-3 billion
\n dollars by 2020 that will supposedly accrue to NZ's trading advantage, will be nearly worthless by that date when it is perceived we will receive it,
\n however, there is no hard evidence that we will, as it is for now still a ball park figure.<\/p>\n
So the TPPA is an old boy network game that they are taking to a global level, and we the people are not at the table, have no idea what it entails,
\n and it is quietly creeping into being, with a forecasted date for full signing by November 2013. As for the NZ Maori, they are having to deal yet another
\n invasion and the control of what they see as ancestral lands. It must be majorly disheartening for them.<\/p>\n
However, the people are stirring, a mass awakening of the citizens is becoming possible, and with your courage, diligence and discipline, this agreement
\n will be illuminated by the light of day as an instrument of control and undemocratic practice.<\/p>\n
The ball is now in the peoples court.<\/p>\n
Naku Noa And Aroha<\/p>\n
Kia kaha (stand strong)<\/p>\n
Decide To Network<\/p>\n
Use every letter you write
\n
Every conversation you have
\n
Every meeting you attend
\n
Every email you send
\n
To express your fundamental beliefs and dreams<\/p>\n
Affirm to others the vision of the world you want<\/p>\n
Network through thought
\n
Network through action
\n
Network through love
\n
Network through the spirit<\/p>\n
You are the centre of a network
\n
You are the centre of the world<\/p>\n
You are a free,
\n
Immensely powerful source of life and goodness<\/p>\n
Affirm it, spread it, radiate it
\n
Think day and night about it
\n
And you will see a miracle happen:<\/p>\n
The greatness of your own life.<\/p>\n
In a world of big powers, media and monopolies
\n
But of 7 billion individuals
\n
Networking is the new freedom
\n
the new democracy<\/p>\n
A new form of happiness.<\/p>\n
Dr Robert Muller, Chancellor;
\n
'World Peace University' Costa Rica, Central America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As we near the years end of 2012 we continue into precipitous and interesting times, where society is starting to feel the intensity and growing impact of changes that are stretching our viewpoint of both reality and survival.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourplanet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3734"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourplanet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourplanet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourplanet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourplanet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3734"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ourplanet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3782,"href":"https:\/\/ourplanet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3734\/revisions\/3782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourplanet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ourplanet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourplanet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ourplanet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}