KEY POINTS:
Trade Minister Phil Goff wants NZ's political parties to study the content of the China free trade deal and then make a "rational decision" to sign up to it.
Mr Goff's not on his own.
The clear message from politicians and business people mustered in Beijing yesterday for a confidential heads-up on the deal was that it was so good that political parties shouldn't rain on New Zealand's parade.
"I would like the Maori Party, the Green Party and the New Zealand First Party to all sign up," said Mr Goff. "Not on the basis of anything other than the agreement's in New Zealand's best interests."
Mr Goff was upbeat at a mini-press conference he held at the Sofitel earlier in the day. He knows there's no chance opposition MPs can blackball the FTA. He's got more than 100 votes in his pocket after the National Party agreed to support the legislation.
But it wasn't long before the Winston Peters factor came up. Just what will the Chinese think if our Foreign Minister and his party vote against the legislation was the question that took up nearly half the press conference time. The answer was telling.
"The question won't arise because the deal will be signed by the NZ Trade Minister and the Commerce Minister of China and witnessed at the top level from both countries [Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Prime Minister Helen Clark]."
Mr Goff wasn't out to inflame Mr Peters' heightened sensitivities.
He had briefed Mr Peters as part of the Cabinet consultative phase. Mr Peters had said he wanted to absorb the detail and then make a decision based on that.
"He'll come to his own conclusions."
Mr Peters wasn't the only politician singled out. The Federation of Maori Authorities chief executive Paul Morgan said the Maori Party should also study the deal.
"It's very good for Maoridom. But they didn't think about the economics of the deal. They made their statements before it had even been signed."
