Crown Land Not For Sale To Highest Bidder

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the Government's decision to review the sale of Crown land before the deal is made is long overdue and must be established as a long term measure for all future sales to prevent land grabbing and loss of land rights for the New Zealand public.

The Government has announced that Land Information New Zealand will review sales of land deemed 'sensitive' under the Overseas Investment Act or has a value of $1 million or more as an interim measure until the Government decides on a final policy for dealing with the sale of sensitive land.

"Reviewing every sale – not just those deemed 'sensitive' – is absolutely critical to ensure that public assets currently in the hands of the Government are not susceptible to the size of foreigners' wallets," said Mr Peters.

"The purchase of large blocks of land by foreign investors rightly arouses concerns that New Zealanders are losing control of their country.

"All Crown land is 'sensitive', and it should not be pawned off to the highest bidder," concluded Mr Peters.

ENDS

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