Lefty,

Firstly the term is "hoisted by your own petard" which refers to being blown up by your own weapon, which is not the correct useage.

Secondly, wages growth is strongly linked to increased labor productivity, and the period of low wage growth is tied into the last 8 years of productivity flatlining and labor inflexibility. The unions and the regressive labour laws installed in 2008 are largely responsible.

The TPP like all free trade deals in the past will grant access to markets that will benefit many Aus businesses but a few others will disappear, but the net result is always a benefit.

As the world economy changes only the CFMEU is stupid enough to think that things can be kept from changing.

Just wanted to shout out for the good points that are brought up on both sides of the coin and also for the links to the agreement. Let's continue to compile any other resources if there are any?

Shadow Minister,
Hoist by your own petard refers to that tail of
hair that was frequently worn by seamen over their back collar.

You gave url to the DFA site of the text of the TPP a few days back
but there was no link in your post.

The TPP is all about global corporatism . It gives them the power to sue our Govts if their profits are compromised by Govt policy.It will be a corporate kangaroo court outside our legal system.Welcome to their new world order of totalitarianism.

Shadow minister

Thank you for the word correction, however I think it is an appropriate term to use in this case. You see it is an idiom meaning your argument was incorrect, the same way I was when I thought that the plain packaging laws could allow the tobacco lobby to sue due to lost profits.
As you said it means blown up by your own weapon, or in this case the statement made by you that” living standards have improved over the last forty year” was not a true statement according to the quote below from a parliamentary document regarding living standards.

“While several other factors could have been discussed in this paper (e.g. environmental factors) it is clear that any judgment on whether living standards have improved or deteriorated over the past 20 years is very much dependent on the relative importance that individuals attach to the indicators discussed above”.

Moving on, could you give some examples of businesses or industries that will benefit from this agreement,also the new employment opportunities that they will provide for the displaced workers from those that disappear?

And finally, you are correct when you say, you can’t stop change, however I think it is a bit on the nose to call the CFMEU stupid for speaking up for workers concerns. I guess you think court ordered damages for industrial injury are just a cost of doing business and no big deal. Don’t forget as a mid level white collar worker you may well find yourself surplus to requirements in the not too distant future, as globalization really takes hold.
Chris

Lefty,

From the same paper you quoted

"For most people, THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ECONOMIC INDICATOR of living standards is average real (after adjustment for inflation) income and on this basis living standards in Australia have been rising for several decades."

With a few exceptions the cost of goods and services have dropped in real terms, while wages have increased. Life spans and general health have increased, and this is driven by increased productivity driven by free trade. If you don't understand this, I have linked a very basic explanation.

http://www.economicshelp.org/trade/benefits_free_trade/

If you want an example of employment changes with trade, the simplest and most obvious is to look at what people were doing in 1980 and compare it to now. The unemployment rate is down, but most people are not employed in the types of jobs that were prevalent nearly 4 decades ago.

Every step in the liberalisation of trade has been opposed by the unions not because it benefits Australians, but because it threatens the industries in which their power is based. This is not the only reason I have such disdain for the unions (especially the CFMEU) it also appears that they are primarily concerned with feathering their own nests with dodgy "training" payments and outright theft. It is no surprise that union numbers are collapsing, and in the private sector heading for single digits.