Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last night more than 100 Canberrans turned out in the cold to hear from top trade experts and our very own Jim Chalmers on some of the potential benefits and costs of the Trans-Pacific Partnership proposal. Former Trade Minister Craig Emerson gave us the history of the TPP and provided an informed view on free-trade agreements, while Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network coordinator, Dr Pat Ranald, ran through some of the potential negative implications for Australia. I want to congratulate Gai Brodtmann, member for Canberra, and her staff for hosting such a fantastic event.

As an exporting nation, Australia has much to gain from free trade, but we need to be clear about what each agreement requires us to surrender and whether the deal represents a net benefit. People are genuinely concerned about the TPP. That much was clear from last night. The government needs to shed far more light on the proposals and to provide far more by way of independent analysis on how this scheme will deliver for Australia. Labor's next TPP forum will be in Melbourne in early July and we will look forward to seeing even more engagement with the local community. Watch this space for further details.