Key boosts Clark, TPP in short, sharp UN speech

John Key pushed Helen Clark and boosted the TPP in a short, sharp speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, early afternoon NZ time.

It was a capable and even at times lyrical performance. But in the era of Brexit, and Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump falling over each other to bash free trade, it had a slightly retro feel.

Our prime minister needs some cut-through. Helen Clark was eighth of 10 candidates in the most recent straw poll for UN Secretary General (arguably coming over as too capable for a job where the permanent members want someone they can push around); prospects for US ratification – and thus the TPP as a whole – are looking grim; and the situation in Syria is worsening as New Zealand begins its three-month stint chairing the Security Council.

But there was no immediate indication any media outside NZ had taken a jot of notice.

Here are selected highlights (scroll down for a clip of the whole speech).

On Helen Clark:

The next Secretary-General must have the courage, experience and skills necessary to lead this Organisation, to keep it relevant and responsive.

I’ve worked across the political divide from Helen Clark for years and I know her to be a natural leader.

She rallies people together to find the common ground, even when the issues are difficult and the differences vast.

She gets things done.

We think it’s time for a Secretary-General like Helen Clark.

On the veto power held by the five permanent members of the Security Council:

The exploitation of the veto is well beyond what the founders of the United Nations envisaged.

We acknowledge that addressing regional and national interests is a fundamental part of the process of finding durable solutions. 

But increasingly the Charter is being ignored and the Council seen as irrelevant as countries put pursuit of their national interests before all else.  

On free trade:     

We cannot turn inwards.

We can’t allow fear, or narrow domestic interests turn us away from an open global trading system, which has lifted millions out of poverty.

Countries that close their borders can’t do business.

History has shown that this doesn’t work for our countries.  It will not help our people. 

And protectionism will have a chilling effect on our ability to deliver on the sustainable development goals.

We acknowledge that addressing regional and national interests is a fundamental part of the process of finding durable solutions.

But increasingly the Charter is being ignored and the Council seen as irrelevant as countries put pursuit of their national interests before all else. 

The time for moving forward on Security Council reform is now.

On the TPP:

The PM also defended the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. He elaborated on his position in separate comments to the Council on Foreign Relations, where he sounded something of a warning to the US about losing influence, and competitiveness:

If TPP fails to get ratified during the lame duck period [the final session of the current Congress, in January], it’d be a massive lost opportunity for the United States both for their consumers and business. But also for the geopolitics of the region. Because in the end if that vacuum isn’t filled by the United States, it will be filled by somebody else.

If the US wants to close off its economy to the rest of the world, while initially and superficially that might look attractive, what we know is that over time it forces your companies to be less competitive, less productive, more fat and more happy in the short term and long term less successful.

The clear evidence from New Zealand is that competition drives success and performance.

The PM's comments were incisive and articulate. Had any American commentators been watching, they could have concluded the part-time Hawaiian would make a better president that Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. But it seems they were not.The world, and the UN, move on.