OIO investigation should be a wake-up call to the Key Government

The Overseas Investment Office decision to investigate a Hong Kong based investment group that wants to buy a huge chunk of New Zealand’s dairy assets should be a wake-up call to the Key Government, said Green Party Co-Leader Dr Russel Norman.

The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) is looking into whether a company fronted by Hong Kong Businesswoman May Wang purchased farms without gaining the necessary clearance required by New Zealand law.

“Considering the Overseas Investment Office has a nearly 100% hit rate of allowing New Zealand land to be sold to foreign investors, it is amazing anyone would bother skirting this office,” said Dr Norman.

“As far as I understand the initial purchase of the Crafar farms was brought to light by journalists rather than dedicated digging by the Overseas Investment Office.

“I also wonder if it is entirely coincidental that the Overseas Investment Office announced this decision just as a farming paper was about to publish a story regarding their tardiness in investigating the purchase of the farms.

“Earlier this week Transport Minister Stephen Joyce was dismissing any attempt to diversify our dangerously dairy obsessed economy.

“Given the Key Government’s reliance on primary production for our export earnings it is amazing that Finance Minister Bill English is happily allowing lawyers working for overseas investors to re-write our already weak laws.

“While Mr English is getting tips from corporate lawyers on how to simplify our rules for the ease of their overseas clients China and the Gulf states are on a world wide buy-up of productive land.

“The Key Government needs to wake-up to the fact that we risk losing our economic sovereignty if we lose ownership of large chunks of our primary producing capacity to foreign investors.”