Trade Minister Todd McClay indicated that he would be willing to have the time period extended for TPPA NIA consideration. My email to the committee on 11 Feb and the response about the decision made on Thursday 3 March when the time has almost run out is below.
This decision will mean that many significant people and organisations may be unable to make a submission.
Because many organisations will not be able to meet the FAT Select Committee deadline it’s all the more important that individuals make their voices heard. One approach is here – the TPPA’s National Interest Analysis is not a document that is fit for purpose. You could take 1/2 hour to check it out and write a brief but compelling submission on this topic.
RECEIVED YESTERDAY FROM THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE SELECT COMMITTEE.
Email to Jan Rivers
At its meeting on Thursday, 3 March 2016 the committee resolved not to extend the closing date for the receipt of submissions. The closing date is Friday, 11 March 2016. The committee did agree to consider any substantive submissions received after that date on a case by case basis.
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From: Jan Rivers [mailto:XXXXXXXX@XXXXXXXXX.CO.NZ]
Sent: Friday, 12 February 2016 11:27 p.m.
To: Foreign Affairs Defence Trade
Subject: Time allowed for the International treaty examination of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA)
Dear Sir / Madam,
I would like to respectfully request that the four weeks time available for consultation on this most important piece of legislation is too short for many organisations to prepare a well-structured response. Most boards and representative bodies meet at most monthly and this short consultation period will preclude an orderly and representative decision making opportunity and will undermine the quality of the responses available to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee.
If the consultation period were extended to 7 or 8 weeks that would allow for a proper period for discussion and response development as well as allowing for proper consideration by the appropriate organisational representatives and an orderly preparation of submissions that will be useful to the committee.
I feel it would be quite wrong for there to be a perception that significant organisations – and I am thinking of the situation of organisations such as peak organisations of all kinds, councils, business and NGO representative organisations and professional bodies – who may well be unable to respond in time because the rules and meeting times of the governance and representative bodies of their organisations preclude it. The impression could be made that there is a lack of interest in making a response when nothing could be less accurate.
I trust you will respond sympathetically to my request, which I daresay will be repeated by other submitters.
Yours sincerely
Jan Rivers
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