10. Hon DAVID PARKER (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister for Land Information
When does he expect to announce the decision on the sale of the Crafar farms?
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (Minister for Land Information) Link to this
The Overseas Investment Office is continuing to assess the application by Natural Dairy (NZ) Holdings Ltd to purchase the Crafar farm interests against the requirements of the Overseas Investment Act 2005. I have been advised that the Overseas Investment Office has written to Natural Dairy seeking further information and has yet to receive its response. When the assessment made by the Overseas Investment Office has been completed it will provide a recommendation to the decision-making Ministers. To date no recommendation has been made. I have further been advised that the application is extremely complex, and that the Overseas Investment Office cannot be specific as to when Ministers can expect its recommendation.
Without commenting about the specifics of the Crafar farm application—I understand that would be difficult for the Minister—does he think New Zealand farm owners should be able to sell their farms to the highest bidder irrespective of whether that bidder is from New Zealand or overseas?
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON Link to this
That is a very difficult question to answer, because every case has to be treated on its merits. That is why we have an Overseas Investment Office, why every one of the applications is processed, and why, finally, Ministers make a decision based on those merits.
Does the Minister believe that opposition by New Zealanders to overseas ownership of farmland is substantially caused by prejudice about the ethnicity of buyers, or has the Prime Minister changed the Minister’s mind?
Hon Christopher Finlayson Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The primary question is very narrow. It relates to a decision on the sale of Crafar farms, and now we are venturing far and wide into general policy issues about overseas investment.
It has been a matter of public record that the Minister has said he thinks opposition to purchases by Chinese interests is caused by their ethnicity.
Mr SPEAKERThat of itself would not necessarily bring the question within order, but in answering the primary question the Minister emphasised that these matters need to be treated on their merits, and then there was a supplementary question, and I believe that the Minister expanded things somewhat in his answer. That is why I believe that the question is not unreasonable, given the answers that have been given. So I invite the Hon David Parker to repeat his question but be mindful to try to keep it within the scope of the primary question.
I will repeat it word for word: does he believe that opposition by New Zealanders to overseas ownership of farmland is substantially caused by prejudice about the ethnicity of buyers, or has the Prime Minister changed the Minister’s mind?
Again without commenting on the specifics of the Crafar farms application, what outcomes for New Zealand other than economic matters does he think are relevant to decisions to allow or reject applications for foreign investment in New Zealand land?
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON Link to this
The criteria are very clearly set out in the Overseas Investment Act 2005. The Overseas Investment Office lays out its advice based on each one of those, I think, 17 criteria, and then the final recommendation is made to Ministers. That is how it has always been done, even when Labour was in power and sold off very large tracts of our farmland to overseas investors.
Does the Minister accept that in the changing world economic environment stricter controls on the sale of rural farmland to overseas buyers are appropriate?
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON Link to this
What I do accept is that any Minister making these decisions has to be mindful of what the Act says and work within that Act. That is why, as one of the two Ministers making decisions on a number of these applications as they come through, I am very mindful to stay within the law.
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. My question was not about what the law is. I asked for the opinion of the Minister as to what the law should be. That question has not been addressed.