May 06, 2016
TPPA concerns sound but too late to change
The Waitangi Tribunal has found the Treaty of Waitangi clause in the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement should provide a reasonable degree of protection to Maori interests, though it remains to be seen how effective it will be in practice.
The tribunal’s report was rushed out because the Government brought forward its timetable for introducing TPPA legislation into parliament.
It focuses on consultation with Maori and on the clause allowing New Zealand to give more favourable treatment to Maori, including fulfilment of the Treaty of Waitangi.
Claimants said that the clause would not protect their treaty rights, and the TPPA gave too much power to foreign investors.
The tribunal was concerned the right of foreign investors to bring claims against the New Zealand government could have a chilling effect on the Crown’s willingness or ability to meet its Treaty obligations.
It suggested further dialogue between the Crown and Maori about that issue, and about the wording of a Treaty clause for future trade agreements.
An expert witness for the claimants, Auckland University law professor Jane Kelsey, said the tribunal had opted for pragmatism in the face of the Government’s timetable.
It acknowledged the practical problem of reopening negotiations on the 12-country trade pact.
She says it is clear the Tribunal accepted the evidence of its own expert, Associate Professor Amokura Kawharu, and herself that there are real risks in the TPPA that did not exist in previous agreements, in particular with the rights of foreign investors to bring investment disputes.
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