NZ First leader Winston Peters has criticised BusinessNZ after it publicly backed the proposed New Zealand–India Free Trade Agreement, accusing the organisation of endorsing the deal without fully understanding its contents.
Peters said it was “breathtaking” that BusinessNZ and 28 associated businesses and groups had signed an open letter and funded a full-page newspaper advertisement supporting the agreement despite, he says, not having access to or reviewing the full text.
He questioned how any credible analysis could be undertaken under such circumstances and revealed his office had sought clarification from BusinessNZ but had yet to receive a response.
Peters likened the move to “signing a contract blindfolded” and warned that relying on media reports or differing external interpretations, rather than the actual agreement, undermined confidence in the process. He said the situation reflected poorly on the professionalism and decision-making standards of New Zealand’s business leadership.
The BusinessNZ advertisement had claimed, “In an increasingly uncertain global environment marked by rising protectionism, geopolitical tension, and supply chain disruption, New Zealand cannot afford to stand still. Securing better access to India will help build resilience, spread risk, and strengthen our economic position.
“An FTA with India is not a luxury; it is a strategic necessity for our economic security.”
Yes it will open first to containers full of junk and then comes the rest of the junk migrants.
By junk?
With the election coming up, Peters needs to pinch votes from somewhere by blasting something else.
Business NZ will be in support of agenda 2030 no doubt and have Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Winston is quite correct.
We live in a corrupt country.
Corporate greed fully displayed
Of course the corporate vultures want it. They love the idea of cheap imported Indian labour that can replace more expensive Kiwi workers and I’ll add that includes skilled workers (I’ve seen this first hand). It can only enhance their already bulging bottom line.
The question Winston is will NZF “actively” oppose it or back it? I’ve seen a lot of performative comments from politicians over the decades but when the wheels hit the road, they mean precisely nothing.
Winston’s probably right but Indians are prepared to do the” hard yards” and live in the provinces where nobody else wants to work
They live in the provinces until they get citizenship and then they are off to Australia. Luxon has turned on a spigot which Australia will eventually turn off out of self protection and we will lose our special visa status with that country. It is a lie that New Zealand people don’t want to work. Of course they want to work, but how to do it when preference is given to new arrivals? It is another lie that immigrants provide cheap labour and are prepared to do the hard yards. What is hard about driving a taxi? And as for the imports, we have seen what happened with imports from China. They are, essentially, land fill. But the thing that gets me is – why are we, in this land of abundance, importing food from starving, over-populated, no quality control, India?
Cheap is a relative term. I saw an instance where a skilled imported IT worker was hired because they were less expensive than the local contractor already in the role. Another consideration is if you increase the skill base in a given discipline to any measurable degree it tends to make the cost of hiring those people cheaper. Fundamentals of supply and demand. Again a friend from the UK working in Australia noticed how locals were being replaced by imports, in large numbers. This lowered his salary and saw him working longer hours as well.