Senate debates

Thursday, 5 March 2015

Questions without Notice

Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

2:46 pm

Photo of Marise PayneMarise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

The Minister for Trade has made it quite clear what his view is of the supposed leaked documents, and has said they are basically just 'another beat-up'. The minister has said:

As I have made clear repeatedly, the government will not support outcomes that would increase the prices of medicines for Australians or adversely affect our health system more generally; end of story.

Nor would we accept outcomes that undermine our ability to regulate or legislate in the public interest in areas such as health.

What the minister has indicated—and what has been the subject of, as I understand it, over 1,000 public consultations held by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the development of the TPP—is:

The TPP has transformational promise with the potential to help drive growth, jobs and higher living standards. The key focus of our involvement is to materially advance—

Comments

No comments