Our government is ferociously pushing to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), one of the biggest corporate power grabs in a generation, without any independent analysis.

This comes amidst the World Bank's estimates, which have told us that the deal will have practically no economic benefit to our country.

The TPP will drastically push up the price of crucial life-saving medicines, trash our environment, and threaten our internet freedoms.

If we can pressure the government to put this dirty trade deal under more scrutiny, we have a fighting chance of stopping it becoming law in Australia.

Former trade minister Andrew Robb refused to submit the TPP to an independent inquiry, but he's now been replaced by MP Steven Ciobo. Politicians are very sensitive to pressure in their first few weeks on the job, so now's the perfect time to make our voices heard.

Tell the new trade minister to put the TPP under the spotlight and launch an independent inquiry now.

At the beginning of this month, the government tabled the TPP in Parliament, kicking off the process to turn the trade deal into law.

There was no independent analysis of the deal. The government only tabled a National Interest Analysis explaining why the TPP was in Australia's national interest. Problem is that the analysis was written by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade -- the very people who are hell-bent on pushing this deal through.

Our government has also repeatedly rejected offers by the Productivity Commission -- which was set up to scrutinise deals like the TPP -- to take a look at it.

It's clear -- the TPP is terrible news for Australia, as well as millions of people around the world who live in other TPP countries. If we can get an independent inquiry, then we have ammo to pressure the government to stop the deal in its tracks.

But it won't be easy. From the very beginning, the SumOfUs community has campaigned very hard to oppose the TPP. Together with people like you and with our partners, we've been able to delay a deal that many thought would be a shoo-in from the very beginning. And although the TPP has been signed, it's far from over.

We can still stop this deal -- but to do that we have to stop the TPP becoming local law in TPP-backed countries like ours.

Will you take the next step to stop the TPP? Tell our new trade minister to launch an independent inquiry into the deal now.

More information:

Trade Minister Andrew Robb criticised for seeking TPP ratification without independent analysis, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 February 2016
Trans-Pacific Partnership: Trade agreement will not be modelled by the Productivity Commission, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 February 2016