No Second Chances with Foreign Ownership

“Despite today’s reassurances by the Prime Minister that New Zealanders should not concern themselves with growing Chinese influence, New Zealanders rightly have a sense of unease,” says Conservative Party Leader Colin Craig.

“New Zealanders are justifiably concerned by the Crafar farm and other major acquisitions, including the upcoming Yashili deal. China is economically aggressive and full of shrewd business people. They pursue these deals and structure their business operations to maximise profit, and minimise tax, not to benefit New Zealand.”

“There are no second chances when it comes to the surrendering of our land to foreign corporations,” says Mr Craig. “I doubt we will ever get this land back, because the Chinese and other corporate investors will not be stupid enough to sell it.”

"Highly productive land is a scarce resource and becoming ever more so."

“The world food market is growing by 2% every year, and prices are more than robust. It’s a smart investment to be in food production,” Mr Craig says. “Historically we have banked on this, with food production as the core of our economy. The sale of productive land undermines our long term prosperity and shows a lack of long term economic strategy.”

“It’s becoming clear the New Zealand Government is great at facilitating other countries to succeed. The real shame is they are not showing the same dedication when it comes to facilitating the success of New Zealand owned businesses.”

“Selling and facilitating the sale of assets provides a convenient alternative to real economic development, and props up government over spending. These deals are not however in the long term interest of New Zealanders.”

“I refer to John Key’s previous statement that if New Zealanders wanted to buy land in China they should do so. New Zealanders cannot buy land in China. Instead they would be required to enter into joint ventures that preserve Chinese land ownership.”

“We should have a level playing field. Foreign companies wanting to profit by buying land here should instead be required to pursue a joint venture with New Zealanders. We can prosper by working with others; however we do not need to surrender our valuable primary resources to do so.”

ENDS

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