The new Labour/Alliance government has fallen for tactics that are deliberately aimed at slowing down the freeing up of trade, says ACT rural spokesman Owen Jennings.

"The calls for involving green and labour issues in the WTO have been around for years, fostered by short-sighted unionists and anti-growth environmentalists. There has been a concerted attempt by anti-trade groups to use irrelevant topics to slow the changes vital to New Zealand exporters. The Americans and Europeans are happy to let these diversions frustrate the agenda," Mr Jennings said.

"Farmers and foresters will be angry to hear the new government siding with these protesters. The WTO is a trade organisation only. It does not have the mandate or ability to deal with other topics. In the same way the International Labour Organisation does not deal with trade issues.

"Helen Clark has jumped on a bandwagon that is simplistic and populist.

"Where is the proven evidence that freeing trade has harmed the environment or had a detrimental effect on workers' long-term interests? Freeing trade has had a beneficial effect on improving the way countries handle these issues.

"This is a sad day for New Zealand exporters looking for progress in this Seattle round to remove protectionism that is keeping farmers, foresters and fishermen and the country poor."

ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>