Titanic TPP clash between Hooton and Kelsey – on NBR Radio

NBR columnist Matthew Hooton has been a consistently ferocious critic of Professor Jane Kelsey’s longstanding campaign about the fishhooks the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) might contain for New Zealand.

The pair have now squared off on NBR Radio after 6000 pages of TPP text were released by the government last night.   

Ms Kelsey says the final text proves the government has been engaged in serious spin about the TPP.

“The government has had three weeks before the text was available to put its spin on what’s in there.”

There are “significant variances” between the assurance the government has given and what’s actually in the text, she says.

But Mr Hooton says this is a deal that “reflects the changing nature of New Zealand business.”

“It’s [a deal] which is not primary focused on commodities moving across borders. It’s more one that looks at the whole supply chain,” he says.

Ms Kelsey argues, however, New Zealand is not going to be a dominant player.

“We’re not the biggest players, we’re not going to be the ones that draw the biggest gains from it and, in fact, we may even become more dependent, or hostage to those supply chains.”

She says the government is going to be “handcuffed” on domestic issues such as health and environmental because of the agreement.

In response, Mr Hooton says if it was found in the future that the costs outweigh the benefits, then New Zealand would withdraw.

Ms Kelsey disagrees.

“Matthew, you know that’s disingenuous,” she says.” All sorts of hell would be wrought, there would be threats of credit rating downgrades, investor strikes and there would be claims by other countries they would never enter into agreements with New Zealand again.”

Mr Hooton claims Mr Kelsey writes from a “Marxist” perspective, something Ms Kelsey strenuously denies.

“There is a time-honoured saying that those who engage in name-calling do so because they can’t win an argument on its substantive merits,” Ms Kelsey says.

“Labelling me a Marxist seems to be Matthew’s means of doing that.

"I would like NBR Radio to invite Matthew to debate the actual TPPA text and the issues that it raises with me at some time in the near future.”