TPP high on agenda as Parliament reconvenes

New Zealand Minister of Trade Todd McClay with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key after signing the Trans Pacific Partnership at Sky City. Photo / Getty Images

Fierce debate that surrounded the Trans Pacific Partnership's signing will move to Parliament today as the Government starts the process to ratify the huge trade deal.

As Parliament resumes for the year, Prime Minister John Key will deliver a statement outlining his party's priorities, with other party leaders responding.

High on the Government's agenda is its response to a review of Child, Youth and Family, social housing reforms, law and order changes and a response to a review of the country's intelligence agencies.

A sales pitch for the benefits of the TPP is also likely to be made.

Trade Minister Todd McClay will table the national interest analysis (NIA) of the agreement, which has already been publicly released.

Read the TPP national assessment analysis here:

Parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee will then consider the NIA and hear submissions on it anti-TPP activists have urged opponents to both submit and, if possible, attend any committee hearings.

Labour leader Andrew Little said the Prime Minister could talk all he wanted about the TPP, but the truth was that independent analysis had shown the economic benefits would be slim, for the high price of an erosion of democratic rights.

Mr Little said he would today also make the point that the Government does not stand up for New Zealanders, nor have any plan for a strong economy.

The world economy was facing headwinds, but there were longer-term challenges including how the nature of work would change.

"You would think that a government after seven years in office would have taken real steps to achieve diversification, which they just haven't done."

NZ First leader Winston Peters said his party would be focused on the economy, championing changes more meaningful than those to be made to the Resource Management Act, and protesting "the path to separatism" that the Government was taking the country down.