“Auckland Action Against Poverty will be on the streets from 9.00am Thursday.  We refuse to passively sit back while another piece of our nation’s future is signed away.”

Jobs and welfare advocacy group Auckland Action Against Poverty will be supporting both major anti-TPPA protests in Auckland on Thursday.

 “We will encourage members and supporters to participate in either or both the Real Choice blockade protest gathering at 9.00am in Aotea Square and the It’s Our Future march which starts at midday from the same location,” says Sue Bradford, a spokesperson for AAAP.

 “Even though its purpose is largely symbolic, Thursday’s international signing of the TPPA is a highly significant event.

 “This is an opportunity for all of us who seek to defend our country’s economic and political sovereignty to come together and take a stand.

 “Business and government leaders say the TPPA is good for New Zealand.

 “The TPPA might be good for the powerful and rich but it surely won’t be any use to the people we work with – unemployed people, beneficiaries, students and low wage workers.

 “Even John Key admits the price of some medicines will go up.  Foreign corporations will be able to take legal action through the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) process to stop our own government making progress on environmental, social and economic reforms. 

 “New intellectual property, services and ISDS rules will benefit large multinational companies.  There is no guarantee Tiriti rights will be protected.

 “We need real jobs, decent housing and living incomes for all.

 “The TPPA will take New Zealand in the opposite direction, diminishing our ability to make our own choices about our future and giving even more power to the global corporate elite.

 “Auckland Action Against Poverty will be on the streets from 9.00am Thursday.  We refuse to passively sit back while another piece of our nation’s future is signed away.”

 ENDS