It will only be presented to Parliament for a vote once it has been signed, and Mr Groser says the talks can't take place in public.
"This is a moving game, and we need adults to do this – not breathless children to run off at the mouth when the deal is not actually finished."
I can't think of a better example of the undemocratic MFAT / deep state mindset: that they're the adults, and the people in whose name they are acting are just children who should just shut up and accept whatever deal they cut. And this from an elected Minister in a supposedly democratic government...
Well, fuck that. That's is what kings do, not democratic governments. We need a democratic foreign policy, and we need it now.
What does this mean? It means no more secret treaties. It means transparency in diplomatic negotiations. And above all, it means signing only after the approval of Parliament or a referendum, not one autocrat operating in secret. Because deals negotiated under the current system, where Ministers impose secrecy so they can lie to and betray us, simply have no democratic legitimacy. And as a supposed democracy, we simply should not accept it.