THE GOVERNMENT IS KEEPING THE TPPA AGREEMENT SECRET UNTIL AFTER ITS SIGNED

Although the reheated TPPA is scheduled to be signed on March 8, none of us will get to see what the government has finally signed us all up for before then...

WHILE PRIME Minister Jacinda Ardern has insisted that the reheated TPPA is "vastly improved", we now learn that the final agreement won't be available for any of us to see before it is signed on March 8.

Although this government promised 'consultation' and 'transparency',  the agreement will have been signed before anyone has had the chance to properly digest it.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters the final agreement won't be freely available before March 8 because it has to be translated into all of the languages of the countries involved.

Some of us might be thinking this is a convenient excuse to keep the agreement well away from public scrutiny. It also looks like Peters is going to front this agreement while Jacinda Ardern stands well back in an attempt to avoid any of the critical flak that will inevitably be heading for her government over the coming weeks.