Free Trade Deal discrimination claim 'just wrong', Luxon says

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the India Free Trade Agreement will have different immigration settings than deals with other countries, because each deal is unique.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has accused National of covertly making changes that would discriminate against Indians migrating to New Zealand.

Peters said he had a document showing Immigration Minister Erica Stanford had approved changes that officials warned would be "more restrictive in a way which targets India and India alone", and could impact relations with the country and New Zealand's reputation.

Luxon told Morning Report it was not discriminatory.

He said there would be different settings than in agreements with other countries.

"Every deal is different," he said.

"Different access is negotiated, and in this case, as there is with all of them, there's a new visa negotiated under a new FTA."

Luxon said the government was following usual Cabinet processes.

"It's very normal that the Minister of Immigration imposes bespoke conditions on any FTA visas that are negotiated, quite normal."

Both India and New Zealand were very happy with the deal, Luxon said.

He said it was normal to negotiate the deal, then have the Immigration Minister embed the settings.

"It's set within the confines of our government to determine all of that, and we deliver on those FTA commitments that we've made, so that's exactly what we're doing here."

Luxon said Peters was playing politics over a deal he remains staunchly against.

"I think it's very easy to indulge in some anti-immigration politics, and the reality is, this is a country that has legal immigration," he said.

"I get it's easy politics, it's just wrong."

Both India and New Zealand were very happy with the deal, Luxon said.

Luxon said Peters' position on the FTA was confusing.

"On the one hand, he said few weeks back, oh we've got way too many Indians coming into the country, and now we're saying we haven't got enough."

ACT, Labour weigh in

With his National leader hat on, Luxon announced on Sunday his party would campaign on a five-year plan to prioritise free trade with seven countries.

In response, ACT leader David Seymour lashed out at Trade Minister Todd McClay over the India deal including a line affirming New Zealand and India's respective positions on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Seymour said that was one of several "fish hooks" that were not related to trade in recent FTAs. The UNDRIP clause had been "snuck into" the India deal, he said.

"The government of India didn't want it, the government of New Zealand didn't want it, but the bureaucracy put it in there. We relied on Todd McClay to say that we're not doing any extraneous stuff around the Treaty in this free trade agreement, he assured us we weren't, and it turns out we were.

"I just say rock on with the free trade agreement, but make sure ... the next trade minister is capable of ensuring it's just a free trade agreement, not someone else's political project or a vehicle for it."

Labour's trade spokesperson Damien O'Connor accused both New Zealand First and ACT of disloyalty.

"David Seymour, like Winston Peters, is just making politics of an agreement that has huge potential," he said.

"On balance, Labour believes it's worth signing. It's not perfect, but for them to play politics is simply disloyal to our country."

Labour and ACT both back the deal, while New Zealand First has refused.

O'Connor said New Zealand respected the UN declaration on Indigenous peoples but was not bound by it - "and from what we know, the government has remained consistent to that".