Lower Dollar Boosts Dairy Auction But Makes Our Farms Cheap
new-zealand-first-party
Wed Feb 04 2015 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Lower Dollar Boosts Dairy Auction But Makes Our Farms Cheap
Wednesday, 4 February 2015, 12:12 pm
Press Release: New Zealand First Party
Rt Hon Winston Peters
New Zealand First Leader
4 February 2015
Lower Dollar Boosts Dairy Auction But Makes Our Farms Cheap
The welcome surge in global dairy prices, like that of wool recently, has nothing to do with government policies but it now leaves our farms at the mercy of cashed up foreign buyers.
“That 9.4 per cent rise in GlobalDairyTrade comes off the back of the dollar’s fall and growing concerns about milk supply due to drought,” says the New Zealand First Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters.
“Not that this government is doing much on water storage and it‘s done nothing to drop the dollar. It has only come down due to the policies of other governments.
“But look what happens when our dollar does fall against the greenback. The value of our exports rise and that’s great for tourism, IT, dairy, wool or beef.
“It ought to be great news but because this government believes in ‘New Zealand on sale,’ a much lower dollar also makes our farms and processors cheap to buy.
“The Chinese have snapped up Southland’s fully integrated Blue River dairy; New Zealand’s largest dairy sheep operation. That follows thousands of hectares of farmland and forestry heading offshore.
“And that was well before the dollar’s tumble against the US dollar but this government doesn’t care that China is sitting on US$4.8 trillion in foreign currency.
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“The Prime Minister and his minions believe everything is awesome so we don’t need a register of foreign land ownership. The Prime Minister is like Nero and is fiddling while our exporters burn, our land is being sold and then there’s Mike Sabin.
“It is basic economics that a lower dollar boosts the value of our exports and it is basic reality that if we don’t own our productive assets then the value of “our exports” simply head offshore. This is called economic sovereignty.
“Thankfully, New Zealand First has a Bill to bring in a register of foreign ownership awaiting introduction,” says Mr Peters.
ENDS
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