Rt Hon Winston Peters
New Zealand First Leader
28 July 2013

Freeze Property Sales to Foreign Buyers Urges Peters

New Zealand First  has again called for an immediate freeze on property sales to foreign buyers to avoid a ‘backdoor’ sell out of New Zealand land and homes.

This follows the belated realisation by Labour that there is a serious problem with foreign buyers snapping up houses in the Auckland area.

Rt Hon Winston Peters says New Zealand First has repeatedly called for restrictions on property sales to foreign interests and has a Private Members’ Bill in the ballot which would set up a comprehensive register of all foreign owned land.

“We know that there are a lot of properties being sold to foreign interests. We know of cases in Auckland where buyers are obtaining multiple titles and are being financed with very low interest rates by banks based in China.

“Throughout history, foreign ownership of property has caused serious problems. In New Zealand we have a disaster in the making. 

“No other country has such open ended rules over property ownership. Thousands of New Zealanders are forced to live in sub-standard houses while people stepping off a plane can grab any number of properties.

“This has to be stopped forthwith. Many of the overseas owners are involved in property speculation in the Auckland market, driving up prices and creating a serious shortage of homes for young families starting out,” says Mr Peters.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

New Court Orders, Screening, Guardianship Changes...: Government Ignoring Poverty, Again

It remains to be seen if announcements today will better protect children, but the National Government is forgoing an opportunity to really help kids by ignoring the elephant in the room, which is poverty, Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei says.

"All the experts have told the Government that very low income is associated with higher rates of child maltreatment and neglect -- something which was totally ignored in the Government's Children's Action Plan and the announcements today," Mrs Turei said. More>>