Government breaches Senate procedure by hiding details of TPP-11
MEDIA RELEASE
3/12/2018
Senator Hanson delivered a stinging “please explain” to the Government today when she demanded to know why they chose to breach Senate procedures by failing to table the full text of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership-11 for consideration before signing it into law.
During Question time Senator Hanson grilled the Government over this apparent lack of transparency by asking Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Senator Birmingham, “Does the Minister hold the rules of the Senate in such little regard that he feels he does not need to comply with them?”
Senator Birmingham said that he would take Senator Hanson’s questions on notice.
“The decision to sign the TPP-11 agreement, without complying with Senate Standing Orders is a serious matter and I will be pursuing this further,” Senator Hanson said
According to Senate standing orders the Government is required to provide a copy of the full text of agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership to the Senate 14 days prior to signing.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership was signed on the 8th March 2018, prior to a copy being tabled in the Senate.
FULL QUESTION
-END-
