New Zealand PM says he will be ‘happy’ if Australia-China FTA fails

New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key made a surprise statement, saying that he will be “quite happy” if Australia fails to clinch the controversial free trade deal with China. He was implying that such a situation would be of great benefit to his country. New Zealand has an ongoing free trade agreement with China, signed in 2006.

Mr John Key told the Australian Financial Review that his country’s trade deal with China had been 11 times greater than any estimates and it would be the gain of New Zealand if Australia’s loses the FTA.

“I’m a massive proponent of free trade, and the benefits of our FTA have been 11 times greater than the most optimistic estimates. The numbers speak for themselves. Having negotiated an agreement that is high quality, you’d like to grab it with both hands. New Zealand will be quite happy if you don’t,” Mr Key added.

Australia’s new government under Mr Malcolm Turnbull has announced that the FTA is a high priority for it and is trying to convince the opposition Labor Party to lock in the deal. The parliament has to ratify the trade deal, which is being stonewalled by Labor and the unions over alleged concerns of job loss for Australians if the FTA is made operational.

Foundation of prosperity

Australia’s new Prime Minister has already called the ChAFTA as “one of the most important foundations of our prosperity.” Mr Turnbull also hit out at the “reckless approach of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to the free trade agreement.”

The opposition Labor Party accused the government of playing a “political game” with the China deal, in a reference to the legislation introduced by the government on Wednesday. According to Labor, the factual position is that a vote cannot be held on the matter until a parliamentary committee submits a report on the details in mid-October.

“Yet they wanted to say ‘oh look we’re upping the ante, we’re putting pressure on’, when they know no one else can speak on the bill yet,” opposition frontbencher Tony Burke told Sky News.

Agri business plea

Meanwhile, many agriculture industry leaders urged Prime Minister Turnbull to fast-track the FTA with China and resolve its spat with the unions and the opposition. They welcomed Mr Turnbull's support for the Chinese deal and hoped he would deliver on his promised style of "advocacy, not slogans.”

Paul Thompson, managing director of Select Harvests -- Australia's biggest listed almond producer, said the China deal needed to be ratified soon to safeguard the country’s high standard of living.

“There is a big cold reality here for Australian agricultural businesses. If we were as efficient as possible, we couldn't consume everything we grow. We have to be export focused, and you're only successful in an export market if you're competitive. Unless we want a massive correction in the quality of our living standards, we need these sorts of things [trade agreements] to help us to be competitive,” Thomson added.

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