NZ First Says No More Farm Sales to Non Resident Foreigners
new-zealand-first-party
Sat Nov 09 2013 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
NZ First Says No More Farm Sales to Non Resident Foreigners
Saturday, 9 November 2013, 12:09 pm
Press Release: New Zealand First Party
Richard Prosser MP
Spokesperson for Primary Industries
9 November 2013
New Zealand First Says No More Farm Sales to Non Resident Foreigners
New Zealand First is calling for a complete halt to sales of New Zealand farmland to non resident foreign buyers.
On the heels of the announcement that Synlait Dairy Farms in Canterbury is to be sold to the Chinese owner of the Crafar farms in the North Island, Primary Industries Spokesman Richard Prosser said the deal, which requires the approval of the Overseas Investment Office, was "economic madness".
"This is not foreign investment, it is foreign takeover.
“Chinese Government-owned companies buying farms and dairy companies in New Zealand do not constitute investment, they involve a change of ownership, and a transfer of wealth from New Zealand to China, and that is all.
"Arguments that they can't take the land with them are meaningless and fail to grasp the realities.
"Under the Free Trade Agreement with China these companies can bring in their own workers to work on the farms and in the processing factories, they can ship the product straight back to China or anywhere else without even exchanging currency, they can even bring in everything from fertiliser to fencing wire direct from their own suppliers if they want, bypassing the entire New Zealand supply chain.
"New Zealand workers and businesses can be excluded entirely and the New Zealand economy will see no benefit whatsoever, which means they have effectively taken the land with them.
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
"The Overseas Investment Office is a tired, toothless old watchdog with no interest in getting off the porch, and we can expect it to rubber-stamp this purchase just like every other dodgy deal it signs off on.
"Under a New Zealand First-influenced Government there will be no more sales of farmland to non resident foreigners, full stop. This road leads to peasanty and New Zealanders being tenants in our own country.
“This view would be the same regardless of the origins of such foreigner ownership take overs,” says Mr Prosser
ENDS
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}
Using Scoop for work?
Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.
Join Pro Individual Find out more
Find more from New Zealand First Party on InfoPages.