NZ First to vote against FTA

NZ First have confirmed they will vote against the Free Trade Agreement with China.  So the NZ Government is going to have its own Foreign Minister vote and advocate against their most important foreign policy achievement.  What next? Will Helen Clark allow the Minister of Finance to vote against the Budget?

NZ First are saying there are not enough concessions from the Chinese side. This is absolute nonsense. Professional negotiators such as Tim Groser are saying that it is one of the cleanest (ie few hold out areas) FTAs around.  Considering our relative sizes, NZ has negotiated a great deal.

Anyway NZ First have made their decision, which puts the ball in Clark’s court. Does she regard it as acceptable her Foreign Minister votes against and advocates against her Government’s most important foreign policy achievement?