Free trade’ poses far greater threat

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IS IT JUST coincidence that the public often get handed a minor item to get excited about while a big one slides through without notice? The proposed trans-pacific ‘‘free’’ trade agreement, being negotiated in secret, could do much more to harm New Zealand’s sovereigntythan the sale of a few farms to Chinese interests.

The Chinese can’t take our land away; this agreement could take away our rights to regulate our booze trade, our tobacco industry, our tendering of works and many other aspects.

Labour is predictably silent on this; it has a long history of internationalism starting with Walter Nash’s involvement in formation of those disastrous bodies, the IMF and World Bank.

This continued, through Roger Douglas’ sellout to the corporates, to its willingness to sign the equally disastrous Multilanreral Agreement on Investment a few years ago and its 2008 attempt to destroy our health food industry for the benefit of the big pharmaceutical companies.

The Greens appear to be blissfully unaware of the threats this agreement could present to so many of their policies.

The Social Credit movement is well aware of the problem, but for the present lacks the political clout to do much about it.

So, as in the case of the M.A.I, it looks as though the Maori, with their concerns about threats to the Treaty, might once again save us.

Propaganda in the main media almost certainly will embody attacks on the Treaty. We Pakeha should think carefully before falling for it.