“National should not be pretending to other TPPA countries that it can make commitments on behalf of New Zealand three days before a General Election,” says CTU Secretary Sam Huggard. Crucial talks are taking place in Japan tomorrow and Friday where the New Zealand, Japanese and Australian governments are desperately trying to persuade the other eight countries to revive the TPPA despite the US having pulled out.
“Kiwis want to have the right to decide whether overseas speculators can buy our houses. We don’t want overseas investors getting special rights to challenge Government decisions made in our interests. We want medicines to be affordable. We want state owned enterprises to work in our interests, not just to be for-profit companies. All of these and more are at stake in the negotiations. Opposition parties who may be the Government next week want these things too.”
“The National Party should not use the negotiations to lock in its policies and should not pretend to the other countries that it can represent Kiwis’ views on these important issues.”
“We call on the current Government to withdraw from these negotiations until after the election to enable the incoming Government to make up its own mind on what course to take.”
“We will continue to oppose the TPPA while it remains an exercise in corporate power rather than a simple trade agreement,” Huggard says.
ENDS