60, the motion is not agreed to. Members, I call on members order of
the
the day number5. International the day number5. International
Transparent Treaties
Transparent Treaties Bill first reading. Fletcher Tabuteau. I
Transparent Treaties Bill first that the International
Transparent Treaties Bill be now
read a first time. I
time. I nominate the foreign affairs, defence
affairs, defence and trade select committee
affairs, defence and trade select affairs,
affairs, defence and trade select committee to consider the it be.
Sir, this bill
was written in response to the fear, the unease
and the confusion of our times. In
response to New Zealand's
worry and anger with an
arrogant Government. I speak, of course, sir, about the six years of
secret TPP negotiations and the
signing that deliberately excluded
the majority of New Zealanders and,
in fact, excluded those who we
call its representatives. Sir, for the
spin ako lites across the side
of the House there, before they
start dribbling
the House there, before they start
build a wall, I remind the National backbenchers that one of New Zealand
First's founding principles is to
grow our country's exports through
trade and favourable fiscal and
monetary settings. That actually
work for Kiwi business. The TPP and
the TPP 11 will not do that for
our country and you will be aware
that trade in the sum of our
economy has actually gone backwards
under this National Party. It was a bad deal
National Party. It was a bad deal
when the United States
was involved, it will be a bad deal without the
United States. The
Government needs to let it go and work on real FTAs
so our exporters have open access
and benefit from
meaningful tariff reductions. Sir, we
have recently seen the death of neoliberalism
and globalism. At least I hope so
in its current form. Discussions over the
decades have suggested that
an unfetterred globalist agenda without
unfetterred globalist agenda without
thought to the people they presume
to represent would bring ability
its own demise. Yes, expanded global
trade under an
interventionist US trade under an interventionist US
Government in
trade under an interventionist US
grown the world economy and many of us have seen the benefit
of that. But globalism, sir, I put
it to this House, has become
the calling card of the global elite. Big
business has hijacked trade
and now New has hijacked trade and now New
Zealanders know it. As the Brexit
Zealanders know it. As the Brexit
vote highlighted, globalism in its
current form must be
considered dead. Most commentators and
most economists have been blipded by the
In the late 90s it became clear to In the late 90s it became clear to
observers that deeper economic
integration required harmonisation of laws across countries.
Differences in rules on employment
conditions or product safety
conditions or product safety
requirements or the environment, for
example, are deemed to be barriers
to trade in this modern world.
Indeed, as New Zealand first has
always said the
Partnership was more about
about actually removing real tariff barriers for our exporters. But
the consequences of these
agreements often run counter to what the
majority of the people
actually want from their Government and for
their country. Deeper integration
it is reckoned will therefore lead either
to an erosion of
disregard the will of the public or will cause the dissolution
of the nation state as authority
moved to supra national bodies elected to
create harmonised rules for
everyone to follow. And the
example we see in the world of that doesn't seem to be
working particularly well either.
These
working particularly well either.
create a trilemma. Societies cannot be sgloeb globally integrated.
Sorry, I will repeat that for Mr Bennett, a trilemma. Societies
cannot be
cannot be completely globally integrated. Many international
corporates and the servants of
big business wager that
the sovereignty of nation states would be the item
societies chose to disregard. It is
now clear that the people of the
world, the people of New Zealand,
cannot and will not
forego their sovereignty and their right to
determine their own future. That
National Government sided
with big business and they did not side
with the people
the people of New Zealand and tonight they will not want
to discuss a more open democracy and a
more empowered House of Representatives. They will have us
continue with their current
undemocratic power base. By way
of example, parliament was not informed
about the contents of the
executive signed it. Instead we were told to trust them and described as
breathless children. New Zealanders
were rightly insulted and, indeed,
infuriated. That was when tens
of thousands of New Zealanders rose
up in revolt. Kiwis
protested up and down the country. They literally
shut down Auckland in an incredible
show of opposition to the signing
of the TPP. International partnership
the TPP. International partnership
agreements were at the forefront
of our consciousness and
the Government didn't want a bar of it. Our
parliament was only officially
informed once the agreement was
informed once the agreement was
signed, even then
we weren't actually ratifying the treaty, we
were ratifying supporting
legislation and by goodness were
we shepherded in what
that debate looked like in the House on
those pieces of legislation.
looked like in the House on those pieces of legislation. They were
detailed and we were
absolutely confined to the tedious law and we
confined to the tedious law and we
couldn't speak about what the
enabling legislation meant for the
rest of the country and what the
trade deal
trade deal meant for New Zealand. Sir, the real difference between
the current system and what my bill
proposes is that parliament
will actually matter. The people of New
Zealand, sir, want
parliament to matter. They want representatives
to think about them and not just
the international corporates.
international corporates. There are
the National Party never look beyond the infinitesimal benefits that
were highly contested and highly debated,
just not in this House. In fact, the
New Zealand people
wanted their representatives to care about
New representatives to care about
New Zealand. Outside of the
Westminster jurisdiction in the developed
world it has basically moved on. Across
the world we see a more
democratic process with
process with greater restriction placed on the executive to enter
into international treaties. Sweden,
France, Ireland, Denmark and
the Netherlands are just a
few examples in which parliament's must give
approval for signing up to treaties.
We should look to them with the
modern world and cast off this
antiquited anathema. Even
modern world and cast off this antiquited anathema. Even within
the TPPA 11, the zombie that
the Government is trying to
resurrect, we are on the negative side
of the ledger. Japan, Malaysia, Chile,
Mexico, Peru and Brunei, all
require parliamentary approval for treaties.
New Zealand has a long
tradition as an international player. It is
a tradition we are proud of but
in this we have fallen behind the times
and we will be seen as lacking in
our democracy and
we will be tarnished for it. The system
as it is absolutely fails when the
executive signs New Zealand into
treaties against the wishes of the
New Zealand public.
New Zealand public.
That is why parliamentary approval of treaties must be given before
the of treaties must be given before the
executive signs us up. This
executive signs us up. This
Government has shown that public
debate about, and the opposition to,
international treaties does
not matter to them
international treaties does not
one bit. In our democracy accountability matters. Not only did
the TPPA take accountability away
but so does the
current outrageously outdated system that
this Government so desperately clings to. This bill
will allow New Zealanders to decide
on who is to be held accountable for
the decisions made
on their behalf. It will be clear and it
will be transparent when they go to
the polling booths.
transparent when they go to the polling booths. Sir, democracy
and accountability must be at the
core Poff good Government
Government. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Todd Muller. I rise to speak
against the International
the International Transparent Treaties Bill. Mr Tabuteau, dear oh
dear oh dear.
Treaties Bill. Mr Tabuteau, dear oh dear oh dear. Look, my
Treaties Bill. Mr Tabuteau, dear oh