Little won't say if Labour supports TPP

Labour Party leader Andrew Little in his office at Parliament, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Andrew Little is still not saying if Labour supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, although he admits it doesn't stack up against all the party's bottom lines.

"The TPP is here. The National government has signed up to it. That's not going to change," the Labour leader told TV3's The National today from Palmerston North, where the party is holding its annual conference.

"We had five bottom lines that we were going to measure it against. We haven't been through the 60,000 pages of text in detail but we've been through enough to know that four of our bottom lines have been met.

"There's one - a pretty series one - that hasn't been and that's the one that concerns restrictions on land sales."

Mr Little said he didn't think it was acceptable that as the agreement stood, New Zealand would not be able to impose restrictions on foreigners buying property here.

That amounted to an international agreement "trying to stop our parliament doing what's right for New Zealanders".

That was wrong and Labour would fight to change that by re-negotiating.

He said three countries, including Australia, had excluded themselves from that aspect of the deal.

Mr Little was asked repeatedly if Labour supported the TPP, but did not give a yes or no answer.

"We are for free trade. We understand the importance for a country like ours for free trade to open access to markets, to help our exporters generate wealth [and] create jobs.

"That's absolutely vital. The TPP does something else and it does something that's pretty rotten actually."

Mr Little said he couldn't say what the party's position on TPP-enabling legislation was until he saw the proposed laws.

He was also asked about working more closely with the Greens, after its outgoing leader Russel Norman suggested a better relationship was needed so the left looked like a government in waiting.

"We are working pretty well together," Mr Little said.

"We did when Russel was leader. [We had] the odd minor hiccup. We're doing it under the new leadership. We meet on a regular basis. We talk."

Labour also kept in close contact with New Zealand First.

On policy, Mr Little said a capital gains tax would not be introduced in a Labour-led government's first term and any suggested introduction would be put to the public to get a mandate.

He also confirmed he would recommend to the conference the party drop its power policy that would set up a single buyer for New Zealand's generation.

He said it was too complex and Labour would need to look at other ways to reduce power prices.