Foreign investment is a good thing. It can provide additional capital, new management skills and technology, and links with overseas markets.

New Zealand was built with foreign investment. Policies toward foreign investment have always been liberal – even before the liberalisation moves of the last two decades.

By and large the same arguments apply to investment in land.

Foreign investors employ New Zealanders on farms, establish forestry export operations, develop tourist facilities and pay rates and taxes.

People who have worked hard to develop a property want to get the best price for it if they decide to sell – which may be from a foreigner. The best price offered for an asset usually signals the most valuable use.

There are some special features about land. Sales to foreigners of land of special historical and cultural value, foreshores, islands and the like have long been scrutinised. Such scrutiny is reasonable.

Recent changes in rules seemed unnecessary and in practice have probably done little other than to add to the costs of those who have to administer and comply with them.

In particular, the element of politicisation requiring ministerial decisions in some cases was a backward step.

There has been no upward trend in approvals of land sales to foreigners. The best estimate is that about 4% of land is in foreign hands. By comparison, a third is in the public conservation estate.

Calls for greater controls owe more to emotion than logic. A while back New Zealand interests owned John o'Groats and Land's End . Should British people have been outraged?

Economic sovereignty has much more to do with running a sound economy than owning particular assets.

There are no good grounds for tighter controls. Foreign owners of land have sometimes been more sensitive to public interests than New Zealand owners. And in the final analysis, foreigners can't take land away.

For more information, contact:

Roger Kerr
Executive Director
Ph: 04 499 0790
Email: rkerr@nzbr.org.nz

David Young
Communications Manager
Ph: 04 499 0790
Email: dyoung@nzbr.org.nz

Web: www.nzbr.org.nz