David Bennett - Land Information

15 June 2018

Green Party voters are feeling rightfully ripped off after Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage’s extraordinary U-turn to allow an overseas bottling plant to purchase more land to expand their operation, National’s Land Information Spokesperson David Bennett says.

“This U-turn becomes more extraordinary when you consider that Ms Sage used that very bottling operation as the catalyst for a Green Party policy to immediately impose a moratorium on such expansions.

“Despite the big talk prior to the election, Ms Sage confirmed at Select Committee yesterday that she has taken no action, after eight months in the job, to implement the policy.

“Members and supporters of the Green Party are rightfully ashamed, with Ms Sage’s turnaround coming at the same time as Green MPs are abandoning their principles and giving support to the Waka Jumping Bill.

“Ms Sage is also struggling to implement the proposed changes to the Overseas Investment Office. A ban on foreign land sales means nearly $16,000,000 of taxpayer funds are needed to close New Zealand off from foreign capital and an open economy, but Ms Sage was unable to clarify in any detail the level of enforcement of the new regime.

“And it gets worse. A ban on foreign purchasers has an exemption for properties of up to 1000 hectares if they support New Zealand First’s forestry policy.

“Not only has Ms Sage not bothered to act on implementing a major election policy, but in capitulating for the political whim of a policy that will lead to an easier track to overseas investment for certain cases, she has demonstrated she has no principles now that she’s a Minister.”

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