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Labour Party on Foreign Policy and Trade

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Labour Party supports unrestricted free trade

“Labour’s trade policy focuses on breaking down trade barriers and supporting our exporters to get access to world markets,” a party spokesperson says. “Labour is committed to liberalising world markets and negotiating future trade agreements which benefit our export sector and grow our economy for the benefit of all Kiwis”.

Labour Party strongly supports the involvement of New Zealand troops in military operations in Afghanistan

Labour supports New Zealand’s troops’ involvement in Afghanistan. A party spokesperson says, “New Zealand shares the international community’s interest in a stable Afghanistan in which Afghans can enjoy increasing standards of living. That is why we have committed defence personnel to Afghanistan since late 2001”.

Labour Party supports raising our overseas aid budget to 0.7 percent of Gross National Income

Labour says it supports raising our overseas aid budget to 0.7 percent of GNI, but only as economic conditions permit. “We have made significant progress towards this goal with increases in the aid budget over the last nine years. In 2008/09 the total Vote: ODA is double our ODA vote of six years ago”. The party says it will increase our overseas aid to to 0.35% (over $622 million) by 2010/11.

Labour Party supports improving and renewing New Zealand's bi-lateral relationship with the United States

Labour supports improving our relationship with the United States, claiming it has improved relations during its years in office. Associate Minister of Economic Development Luamanuvao Winnie Laban told a meeting in Guam last year, "These are exciting times for the New Zealand-United States relationship. Over the last eighteen months both the United States and New Zealand governments have been looking at ways to strengthen the bilateral relationship. US leaders have described the relationship as the best that it has been in decades. New Zealand agrees and we are pleased that our two governments have been able to focus on how the relationship can yield its full potential in terms of cooperation on important regional and global issues."

Labour Party strongly supports actively pursuing a Free Trade Agreement with the United States

Labour strongly supports a Free Trade Agreement with the USA. “We are working closely with the USA to support its inclusion in the high quality, comprehensive “P4” Free Trade Agreement, of which New Zealand is a member along with Singapore, Chile and Brunei,” a party spokesperson says