On the 28th May 2014, a petition signed by 1.8 million people worldwide was delivered to the Australian Parliament to protest against the radical secrecy surrounding the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a sweeping trade agreement, spanning the Pacific Rim, and covering a score of topics. The trade deal has been shrouded in secrecy. Although trade negotiators and industry advisers have had access to the negotiating texts, the agreement has been kept hidden from parliaments, elected representatives, civil society, the media, and the general public. As such, observers have been dependent upon WikiLeaks publishing draft chapters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership — such as the Intellectual Property Chapter, and the Environment Chapter. An early version of the Investment Chapter has also been leaked.

A number of national and international organisations also called for an end to the secrecy surrounding the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The joint petition was organised by Avaaz, the Sum of Us, GetUp and 350.org. The Sum of Us observed: ‘What little has been leaked about this trade deal is extremely worrying.’ The group was worried about the content of the trade agreement: ‘The Government is orchestrating the biggest corporate power grab in a generation by negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal behind closed doors.’ There has been a particular alarm over the inclusion of an investor-state dispute settlement regime in the trade agreement — which would allow foreign investors to challenge government laws and regulations in international arbitration tribunals.

Accepting the petition, a number of Australian politicians — including representatives from the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Greens — called for transparency in respect of the Pacific Rim deal. The petition was also supported by a number of community organisations and civil society groups — including the Electronic Frontiers Australia, the Public Health Association of Australia, and the fossil fuel divestment group, 350.org.