New Zealanders protest Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Accord, 2016

After long negotiations, twelve countries from around the Pacific Rim came together to endorse the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The partnership would have been the largest regional trade accord in history, including countries that make up 40% of the global gross domestic product. The United States, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Peru, and Chile were involved in this trade negotiation, which was seen as a collective defense against China’s economic, political and legal influence in the Pacific Rim. The deal included lower tariffs, easier data transfers, and expanded services across borders, as well as added environmental, labor, and intellectual property standards. 

The TPP sparked controversy around the world, with workers and citizens in each of the twelve countries expressing their concerns. In New Zealand, workers feared losing their ability to organizer in workers’ interests. Citizens feared the partnership would prevent the New Zealand government from making its own laws without outside influence, increase costs of medicine, and give foreign businesses the opportunity to make their way into the country. Members of the Indigenous Maori claimed that they were not consulted about the deal, which they declared threatened Maori sovereignty and violated the Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840, granting Maori people land rights and rights as British subjects.

With the ceremonial signing set to take place on 4 February 2016, residents from Dunedin, a city in New Zealand, held a rally on 30 January to protest the partnership. The Meatworkers Union, International Socialist Organisation, Green Party, Labour, SAFE (an animal rights group), and many more groups were represented at the action along with hundreds of other concerned residents. The rally was the first signal to the dealmakers of strong, organized opposition to the signing of the deal in New Zealand and created a framework for future actions.

Citizens held protests against the TPP all around the country, with the largest of the actions occurring in Auckland, the nation’s largest city on the date of the TPP’s signing. On February 3, 2016, protesters made their way to the SkyCity convention center in Auckland as representatives from the eleven other countries involved in the TPP arrived in the city for the signing.

The signing took place on 4 February at SkyCity, with thousands of protesters gathering outside the building. The crowd was made up of Maori activists, opposing members of Parliament, and a wide range of New Zealanders from around the country. Chants, cheers, dances, and honking cars filled the streets as the international representatives inside signed the partnership agreement. A heavy police presence occurred throughout the protests, but police arrested no demonstrators.

An estimated 5000 people joined another rally at Aotea Square at 1pm in Downtown Auckland to march to the US Consulate. Tiki Taane and Moana Maniapoto, New Zealand singers, spoke and performed at the square before the march. Lizzie Sullivan, a leader of the anti-TPP group Show Us Ya Text, called on the government to release the full documents related to the TPP before 31 August , threatening to carry out a “non-violent citizen’s search and seizure” if the government did not comply. A group of protesters performed skits with Uncle Sam locking a Kiwi bird, a national symbol of New Zealand, in a cage. The marchers carried banners and signs calling for the dismissal of the partnership due to the consequences it would have on their economic and political independence and quality of life. Heavy rain showers appeared as the march began, but they did not stop the determined protests in Auckland. 

In Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, more protests took place at the same time. Similar to the action in Auckland, thousands of concerned New Zealanders gathered outside of Parliament in the capital. Wellington Police Commander Chris Bensemann called extra police to the site as protesters pushed through barriers to move up the steps of Parliament.

Protests also made their way onto the South Island, primarily in Christchurch and Dunedin. Protesters in Christchurch stopped traffic on Riccarton Road before entering a shopping mall. Christchurch Police were on the scene, but protests remained peaceful and eventually went back onto the street. John Minto, a mayoral candidate for the city of Christchurch, was part of the protest, explaining that he wants Christchurch to “become a TPP-free zone.” Protestors did not engage in property damage and police made no arrests. 

David Seymour, leader of the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers Party (ACT), called the protest “ugly, self-righteous hooliganism.” He said the protesters should have stayed home and read about the benefits of free trade. Others spoke in support of the TPP via social media and local news, but no counter-protests took place. 

By the end of the day on 4 February, the twelve international representatives signed the TPP and gave themselves two years to ratify the agreement in their home countries. The United States, a critical member of the TPP, failed to ratify the proposal as a result of President Trump’s disapproval and general discontent toward the partnership in both of the main U.S. political parties. With the United States out of the picture, passing the TPP became impossible in its original form. Terms of the agreement included a minimum of six of the twelve countries, making up at least 85% of economic output, which became impossible without the United States. Some countries, including New Zealand, attempted to amend the documents to create a smaller consortium of countries involved. These attempts fell short, and all twelve of the involved countries failed to ratify the TPP, even in its edited versions.. 

The nationwide campaign against the TPP lasted only a few days in New Zealand. Tens of thousands of New Zealanders showed up to voice their concerns across the four major cities in the country. Similar protests in the United States, Japan, and other countries, along with the election of President Trump in 2016, who opposed the deal, helped to stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership, protecting national sovereignty, jobs, healthcare, and more in New Zealand and the other pacific rim countries.