[asia-apec 864] APEC articles from NZ

[Gatt Watchdog]

>From The Christchurch Press - November 05, 1998  (New Zealand)

'Apec's showpiece: made-for-media' 

Previous governments have gone to great lengths to suppress dissension
during Apec summits. AZIZ CHOUDRY writes that the New Zealand
Government will do the same. 


The Apec leaders' summit in Auckland is less than a year away. There
is already a steady trickle of superlatives and upbeat predictions
from the Government. The private sector is busy talking up the
supposed benefits of Apec. We can expect the trickle to become a
raging torrent from November 18, once New Zealand takes over the Apec
chair. 

This is not a good year to be in charge. Behind the hype and the
glitz, Apec is looking decidedly fragile. The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade hopes to "shape a credible Apec response to the
economic crisis" and "achieve further substantive progress towards
trade and investment liberalisation". Failure to do so, it claims,
"will damage Apec's credibility, and New Zealand as chair". 

A wave of anxiety has spread across many ardent Apec advocates,
including New Zealand politicians and officials. They would have been
nervous enough that Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, a
vocal critic of the free-market economic orthodoxy that dominates
Apec, will host this year's meetings. 

Recently Dr Mahathir has introduced capital controls and is embroiled
in major domestic upheaval. Japan is now suffering its worst recession
since World War 2, and resisting pressure to liberalise its forestry
and fisheries sectors in line with Apec early voluntary sectoral
liberalisation commitments. There is even talk of recession in the
United States. Many economists and politicians are now suggesting that
free-market policies, which Apec exists to promote, may leave
countries too exposed. 

At home growing numbers of people are questioning the wisdom of New
Zealand's economic reforms, privatisations, asset sales, deregulation,
and trade and investment liberalisation. With an election date
uncertain, the last thing the Government wants is strong domestic
opposition to Apec. 

Leaders' summits are largely irrelevant to Apec's work programme, most
of which is agreed upon during the year at numerous closed meetings of
officials, ministers, private sector representatives, and Apec working
groups. As Apec's showpiece they are a made-for-media event. Economic
leaders smile and wave in unison to the cameras as they try to
reassure markets that all is well with Apec's push to open up the
region's economies. 

Behind the hype and the glitz lies the uncomfortable fact that
leaders' summits have come to symbolise the human rights abuses that
critics believe inevitably accompany free trade and investment
regimes. 

More people probably remember Apec in 1996 for the demolition of
shanty dwellings and the removal of more than 33,000 squatter families
in Manila than anything the official meetings said or did. The Ramos
Government wanted an "eyesore-free" zone to convey an impression of a
prosperous, poverty-free, dissent-free "tiger cub" economy before the
Apec VIPs arrived. 

Central Luzon was put under de facto martial law, and farmers were
blocked from harvesting crops for "security" reasons. Surveillance and
harassment of dissidents increased and pro-government paramilitary
groups were reactivated to intimidate those planning to oppose Apec. 

Long after memories of the 1997 Apec meeting in Vancouver faded
actions by Canadian police against non-violent protesters -- mostly
students -- continue to grip media headlines and rock Jean Chretien's
Government. 

Official documents have linked directives from the Prime Minister's
Office to the pepper-spraying and heavy-handed arrests of anti-Apec
protesters. Police had targeted some organisers for "pre-arrest" to
"eliminate" them before the leaders' meeting. Others were arrested for
simply holding signs which read "free speech". 

The operation was not driven by legitimate security concerns but
rather aimed to spare visiting leaders, notably Suharto, from
political embarrassment. Chretien has been roasted in Parliament by
opposition parties over "SprayPEC". Several civil suits are being
taken against the police, and on October 5 a police Public Complaints
Commission began to investigate complaints of excessive police force,
improper arrest, and breach of civil liberties. What happens in Kuala
Lumpur this month remains to be seen. 

How will Apec in Auckland be remembered? 

Next September parts of the city will resemble a militarised zone.
Security costs alone for Apec 1999 are budgeted to top $18 million. If
previous years are anything to go by, the primary function of the high
security will be to suppress domestic dissent and help shield the Apec
entourage from anything that might run counter to the Government's
carefully concocted image of New Zealand, rather than to shield
dignitaries from genuine or perceived threats. 

New Zealand security forces have already begun preparing for Apec with
a recent major counter-terrorist training exercise, Operation Lawman
98. Pressure is now on the Government to amend the Arms Act so foreign
security personnel can carry guns during the Apec summit. 

The Government's track record shows it has little tolerance for
critics of its economic agenda. Democratic rights of freedom of
expression and peaceful assembly were violated during the 1995
Commonwealth Heads of Government, and Asian Development Bank meetings.
A bungled SIS break-in was discovered at my house just before the 1996
Apec trade ministers meeting in Christchurch. These are hardly the
hallmarks of the open participatory democracy that the Government
plans to portray to the international media next year. 

Previous Apec host governments have gone to great lengths and expense
to promote a sanitised image of economic success for these annual
meetings, and to protect Apec leaders from the slightest whiff of
political embarrassment. Why should we expect the New Zealand
Government to behave any differently? 

Aziz Choudry, of GATT Watchdog, attended parallel meetings of peoples'
organisations in Osaka, Manila, and Vancouver at the time of the Apec
leaders' summits. 

--------------------------------------------------------------

What will hosting Apec 1999 mean for NZ? 

'Publicity NZ can't afford to buy' 

New Zealand will gain from hosting Apec, writes DON McKINNON.


In just 11 months New Zealand will host a meeting that will thrust it
into the world spotlight as never before. We have never had a better
opportunity to showcase our country to the world. 

The Apec 1999 Economic Leaders' Meeting will bring to Auckland the
leaders of 20 major economies from the Pacific Rim, including the
United States, Japan, Russia, and China. 

More than 4000 international delegates will visit New Zealand. Apec
will attract around 2500 of the world's media, generating
international exposure and publicity we could never afford to buy. 

Initial estimates indicate that Apec will attract more than $65
million into the local economy. Add to this the value of the
international exposure, and its a pretty good return for an investment
of $44m. And these are just the short-term gains. 

Long-term gains amount to expanding trade opportunities, and a
stronger economy. This means more jobs and more money to spend on
social goals such as health and education. Apec is important for all
of us. 

New Zealand effectively takes the chair of the Apec process for the
1998-99 year, following this month's Apec leaders' meeting in
Malaysia. At that meeting Apec's work programme for 1999 will be
determined and our role more clearly defined. 

Naturally, the Kuala Lumpur meeting will be dominated by the Asian
economic crisis. 

It is heartening to note that despite the pressures the crisis has put
on the region, all Apec members have maintained their commitment to
Apec's open-market goals. These are to achieve free and open trade and
investment in the region by 2010 for developed economies and 2020 for
developing ones. 

In fact, those economies hit hardest by the crisis -- such as Korea
and Thailand -- are those most committed. They see the Apec agenda as
part of the solution to the structural problems of their economies --
many of the same structural problems that New Zealand has painfully
worked through over the past 15 years. 

The commitment to Apec's policy agenda is vital as we seek to
reinvigorate growth and investment in the region. If we've learned one
thing from history, it's that economic isolationism does not work. 

Last year in Vancouver, Canada, 15 economic sectors were identified as
candidates for liberalisation even earlier than the 2010-2020 goal. 

This initiative, called early voluntary sector liberalisation,
includes two important sectors in our economy -- fisheries and
forestry. Much of our total trade in these products is within the Apec
region, and some regional economies have very high tariff barriers on
them. 

It has been estimated that removal of tariffs in these two sectors
could save our exporters $130 million a year. This does not include
the value of any additional exports that free-market access would give
our exporters. 

Apec also does much practical work in the area of trade facilitation
-- making it easier for traders to get access to international markets
by tackling the maze of red tape that slows up business transactions.
It is estimated that around 7 to 10 per cent of total world trade is
tied up in unnecessary duplication and bureaucracy. Apec estimates
that full implementation of its trade facilitation programmes would
save $US46 billion ($86 billion) a year for the region. 

The Apec process has long recognised the value of including private
sector input. The Apec Business Advisory Council (ABAC) reports
directly to leaders, and has assumed an important monitoring role
within Apec. 

Each member economy has three representatives in ABAC. New Zealand's
representatives in 1998 are Philip Burdon, Kerry McDonald, and Rosanne
Meo. Next year Philip Burdon takes the ABAC chair. Our other
representatives will be Douglas Myers and Fran Wilde. 

Another group of New Zealand business people, including some involved
in the growing area of Maori enterprises, will also travel to Kuala
Lumpur to attend a business summit meeting. 

Globalisation is largely driven by technological change. Much of
Apec's work is devoted to helping member economies deal with the
challenges of that change. The value of Apec's work is shown by the
commitment of members, and the desire of other economies to join. 

>From this month the existing 18 member economies will be joined by
three new members -- Russia, Vietnam, and Peru. 

Other economies are queuing up. 

Following Kuala Lumpur, Prime Minister Jenny Shipley will set out
further details of how New Zealand intends to approach its year as
chair of Apec. 

We will be working hard to ensure that progress in Kuala Lumpur
provides a solid foundation for New Zealand's Apec year. 

Don McKinnon is the New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.