SF.20GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES (GATS)
Memorandum: Chairperson, Strategy & Finance Committee (Councillor Holman),
2 December 2002(Appendix T)

RESOLVED: (Holman/Hoadley)

1THAT THE INFORMATION BE RECEIVED.

2THAT IN VIEW OF THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION NOW RECEIVED, THIS COUNCIL WRITE TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT NEW ZEALAND AND TO THE GOVERNMENT ALONG THE LINES OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS SET OUT ON PAGE 8 OF THE CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL REPORT.

The motion was passed unanimously.

It was agreed that the officers would be requested to write to the Christchurch City Council, with the wording of the letter to be confirmed by the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the Strategy & Finance Committee.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASENNorth Shore City rejects GATSNDecember 12, 2002

North Shore City Council is far from impressed with the way the current negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) being conducted by the New Zealand Government with others in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) could affect local government in this country.

At its meeting this week, the council's strategy and finance committee was updated on GATS, the response to which was a mixture of surprise, anger and fear.

Committee chairperson Tony Holman says GATS rules are binding on all levels of government and so limit local authorities such as North Shore City to exercise its mandate to pursue social and environmental goals.

"We're far from impressed with the lack of consultation on this critical issue," says Councillor Holman. "We support Christchurch City's call for full transparency and consultation on GATS with local government." This reflects concerns being expressed in Australia, Canada and many other countries.

GATS was signed in 1994 under the WTO which administers the agreement designed to encourage freedom of international trade and removal of regulations deemed obstructive or anti-competitive. GATS applies to 160 service sectors, many of which are the responsibility, directly or indirectly, of local government. They include water services, transport, planning and building controls, community services including librariesand waste disposal.

"GATS is anti-social, anti-environmental and anti-triple bottom line not to mention anti-local enterprise, ownership and sovereignty," Tony Holman says.

"We don't need to look too far to see the folly of many free market experiments in our community, such as the power sector and building control deregulation. We don't need the gnomes of Zurich, Geneva, New York or the EU breaking up essential community and social services for their own profit."

One of the most worrying matters for North Shore City is the ability of foreign nations who are members of WTO complaining to our government on how New Zealand's 87 local authorities choose to deliver their services.

"It's bad enough that our local decisions are open to international scrutiny and challenge but what's even worse is that our local councils would not have the right to defend themselves against such a challenge and that compensation may be payable to nations deemed to have a right to enter our local markets.

"This is clearly a nonsense but deadly serious. We cannot find out what exactly is going on behind the scenes in Geneva and we've been told that we would be stopped from accessing the information under our own Official Information Act," says Tony Holman.

North Shore City is writing to Local Government New Zealand, the body representing the interests of this country's local authorities, and to the Government effectively endorsing the views expressed by Christchurch City Council (see below).

For more information please contact North Shore City Strategy and Finance Committee chairperson, Tony Holman, on 418 1057.