The Country 11/02/26: Chris Hipkins talks to Jamie Mackay

The Labour leader on the India Free Trade Agreement, which he calls a "botched process by the government".

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's get would be Prime Minister. I have to believe
the polls will be will be. He's saying, Chris Sipkins,
Chris Chippy, thank you very much for coming along. I'm
going to start with that India free trade agreement. You've
got a history, or we have got a history of
bipartisan politics when it comes to our free trade agreements.

(00:21):
Is it a done deal that you guys will support this?

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well, First of all, Jamie, I have a complaint for you.
You made us walk past the barbecue where they're cooking
a very very nice smelling lamb in order to in
order to come and speak to you.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
But I'll do my best.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
Look on the free trade agreement with India. The government
actually haven't formally asked us for our support at this point,
but we're taking it from their public comments that they
would quite like that. I think there's been an absolutely
botched process by the government where they've just failed to
deliver good government. The fact that they can't get their
own side to support it, I think is an indictment

(00:56):
on them. I'm trying to be the adult in the
room here. Though free trade is good for New Zealand.

Speaker 3 (01:03):
We rely on it.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
You know we're here today on Lamb Day where we
celebrate the contribution that refrigeration has made to us as
a trading nation. You know, it is so important to
us as a country. I think the government have done
some things in this trade agreement which do need scrutiny,
some of the immigration provisions and some of the investment provisions,
and it do need to be properly scrutinized. Increased quota

(01:25):
access that's great. Removal of tariffs that's great. The labor
parties fully in support of those things, so you know
we're working through that with the government now.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
The Prime Minister and Todd mclays singing from the same
hymn sheet on this one.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
I just think they're being too tricky. They should just
be upfront with people. No, there isn't an ability in
the agreement to cap the number of international students coming
from India, but to do so would be discriminatory in
a way that we've never done before as a country anyway,
So they, rather than just being cute with the truth,
just be upfront with New Zealand is about it. Tell

(01:59):
them what's in the agreement and tell them why you've
agreed to that. I think the problem is they've been
trying to put a positive spin on it rather than
just being upfront about what's in it.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
Okay, I've got a text in here from a good
West Coast Katie Milon, former president of Federated Farmers. Don't
forget that most of India cows are sacred and are
only milked for protein. A lamb has huge opportunities. So
we all agree on that one. Now, talking about the
West Coast back benches last night, Chris, because you've let
the Southland boy loosen the big town. It's a bit
of a knees up for us, a bit quite exciting

(02:29):
to come to.

Speaker 3 (02:29):
The big smoke.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Rumors were rife that Wayne Langford, current president of Federated Farmers,
is going to be standing for Labor and Damien's old
seat West Coast tasman. Can you confirm or deny.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
If you want to, you know, cast those potential aspersions
on Wayne.

Speaker 3 (02:48):
I don't view them as suspersions, but he might.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Then maybe you should raise those with him, but we
don't comment on the nominating process for electric seats until
candidates of him.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
He would I'm on a of his political allegiance, but
someone like him with genuine agg cred would be good
for you, because, if you don't mind me saying so,
you lack it.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Oh well, We've got a very broad range of people
putting their names forward to be labor candidates at the
forthcoming election.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
I'm really excited about that, and it is people.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
We've got many people coming from backgrounds that you wouldn't
normally associate, you know, as potential labor candidates. There's people
from rural communities and farming backgrounds. We've got people from
business backgrounds. We've got people from sort of law and
ordinary type for backgrounds. Those aren't necessarily people you'd expect
to see putting their names for for labor traditionally.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
I think that's a really healthy sign that we're getting
those that interest.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
Chris Hipkins, thank you so much for coming along and
gracing us with your presence. You can go and have
a lamb wreck now. I don't know where the Prime
Minister is, but we've got a cast of thousands to
chat to before the end of the hour, including David
Seymour and Winston Peters. Can I put those two on
air together?

Speaker 3 (03:54):
Probably not.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
I think they struggled to sit around the cabnet table
together from what I've seen.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
But I'll get a bit of separation.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
Maybe maybe you.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Can, you know, sort of ask them, you know, ask
them why they can't work more constructively together, you know,
take something like the free trade agreement with India.

Speaker 3 (04:07):
Really, the situation that.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
I'm in now, I shouldn't be, you know, it shouldn't
be the government coming cap in hand to the opposition.
The government should have sorted this all out a long
time ago and they haven't.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
Okay, hey got to go, Thanks for your time. You
enjoy a Lamb wreck. It is the National Lamb Day
Barbecue on Parliament Launch. You just cannot beat Wellington on
a good day, and we've got a great day to
day in Wellington.