The Press / by Victoria Main in Wellington
The Green Party says free-trade deals would be "an absolute disaster for New Zealand" and should be scrutinised by Parliament before being signed.
As New Zealand hosts trade liberalisation talks in Queenstown and Prime Minister Helen Clark visits Singapore to lend weight to a proposed bilateral accord, Green co-leader Rod Donald has spoken out against free trade.
He was surprised the Government had not consulted the Greens over the trade talks. "While there is not necessarily going to be legislation involved, they do depend on us for their majority in Parliament and consultation is very much part of the protocol that we have almost finalised with Labour," Mr Donald said yesterday.
A regional taskforce is meeting in Queenstown to consider linking CER with the 10-member Association of South-east Asian Nations over the next decade to form what Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton says will be a trillion-dollar economic zone.
Mr Sutton, who said last year that anyone who opposed free trade had rocks in their heads, could not be contacted yesterday for comment on the Greens' stance.
Mr Donald said he was seeking a meeting with Mr Sutton to discuss the party's concerns about the Government's pursuit of free-trade deals.
"We think it would be an absolute disaster for New Zealand because we simply aren't talking about a level playing field," Mr Donald said.
"Trade without restrictions needs to be predicated on similar employment and environmental standards in the countries concerned so that your trade advantage is truly a competitive one rather than one based on exploitation."
He criticised the Government for seeking free-trade deals at the same time as it was freezing tariff reductions for five years. "I think that's very contradictory."
Like Alliance leader Jim Anderton, Mr Donald wants Mr Sutton to demonstrate the benefits of free trade.
Mr Anderton, who is the Minister for Economic Development, has an agreement with Labour requiring consultation with the community and scrutiny by the Cabinet before such deals are signed.
Mr Donald said all international treaties, including trade deals, should go before Parliament. "We think it's an anachronism that foreign affairs are a Crown prerogative rather than a parliamentary decision."
He said New Zealand's Closer Economic Relations agreement with Australia had not lived up to expectations.:
