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Key Pushes Accelerator On Selling More NZ Land

Rt Hon Winston Peters

New Zealand First Leader

Member of Parliament for Northland
29 JUNE 2016

Key Pushes Accelerator On Selling More NZ Land

Speeding up approvals for foreign ownership of New Zealand land will make a massive difference to the amount lost overseas, says New Zealand First.

“Mr Key was wrong when he claimed it would make no difference when questioned in Parliament today,” says New Zealand First Leader and MP for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“The government is kowtowing to pressure, mainly from China, which is in a rush to turn NZ into its own farm. The proposals are now for ‘less screening, less consent processing’ and a quicker turnaround at the Overseas Investment Office. The OIO is basically a rubber stamping machine anyway with 100 per cent of applications approved.

“No government should acquiesce to another country’s demands – it should be concerned only with protecting and acting in the interests of Kiwis.

“Mr Key claims the sales are ‘investment’ for New Zealand.

“How does the sale of a Kiwi-owned family farm to a foreign state-controlled company or a European investment group bring any more wealth to New Zealand? The profits flow out of this country.

“Mr Key made promises in China to speed up approvals and Minister of Land Information Louise Upston admits changes proposed resulted from applicants who had ‘expressed frustration’ with the time taken.

“The only people concerned about the approval time are the foreign buyers and legal offices here who are profiting from the sales. No government should be changing rules on their behalf.”

ENDS

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