Rt Hon Winston Peters
Member of Parliament for Northland
New Zealand First Leader

6 October 2015

TPPA Deal Not What Government Promised

The government’s promised “Gold Standard TPPA” and no sign up unless “absolutely in the best interests of New Zealand” has not come through.

“Although the details will remain sketchy for the next 90 days what can be said is that our dairy and meat industries have taken a real hit,” says new Zealand First Leader and Member of Parliament for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“The fact is we have failed on the crucial exports we rely on – dairy in to the American, Canadian and Japanese markets and beef in to Japan.

“Commentators should remember why it is we are renegotiating the China Free Trade deal. As with the Korean deal we failed the first time around and Trade Minister Groser and Prime Minster Key’s language tells us this deal is way less than they promised.

“Two of our critical primary industries, on which we rely so much, know that they have been sold out.

“For Mr Groser to say he can’t comment because of the Canadian elections in two weeks’ time is unadulterated nonsense. He owes the New Zealand people the facts now and a comprehensive briefing now, not sometime after Christmas when everyone is on holiday.

“We want facts not hype and the devil is in the still secret details.

“The North American media is going mad on these negotiations whilst we have hardly woken up.

“We need to hear the facts from independent parties not internationalists, meaning National Party politicians. We don’t need cherry picking of percentages that look pretty but on examination, and set against inflation, look extremely elusive.

“Further negotiations will continue in a vacuum of secrecy. New Zealand First suspects that the final result will be way less than the ballyhoo we have been served up thus far.

“New Zealand was promised a stretch limo and we’re getting a low-price sedan. What can be said now is that our over 40-year battle to get a surplus of exports over imports has just got harder,” says Mr Peters.

ENDS

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