Nz pressure group: ban on foreign farmland ownership

A pressure group in New Zealand wants a ban on selling farmland to overseas buyers and says more and more people want land to remain in local ownership. Lobby group Save The Farms is demanding a moratorium on all transactions while the Government conducts a review of its offshore investment policy...

But an overseas company trying to buy 16 Crafar properties says halting sales of farmland to foreign buyers would strangle the New Zealand economy.

Save the Farms, a group of 10 individuals from legal and professional backgrounds with no direct links to farming, says it has no political ties and is not seeking financial support and simple want to put forward the views of an increasing number of people.

The group says it formed in response to an attempt by Hong Kong based company Natural Dairy NZ Holdings Limited to buy farms owned by the Crafar family. The application is with the Overseas Investment Office.

Save the Farms spokesperson Tony Bouchier said members are concerned about overseas corporates buying up agricultural land. However, it supports immigrants who come to New Zealand and buy land to farm it themselves.

The group says it is anticipating a huge amount of support from New Zealanders who want farmland to remain in local ownership. ‘We're confident we're going to have an enormous amount of support about this. We're not looking for membership or money. We're asking people to support an immediate moratorium so we can have a national debate to decide how we're going to deal with land sales to foreigners in the future,' added Bouchier.

But Natural Dairy NZ Holdings says a ban would cost jobs, reduce export earnings and spell disaster for the economy.

A spokesperson for Finance Minister Bill English says a review of the Overseas Investment Act is underway and the Government will not call a halt to land sales while the review is in progress.

‘We're not going to Change the rules or do anything that's going to prejudge the outcome of the review. The review is still ongoing and we'll announce the result when that's completed,' the spokesman added. He would not say when the review might be finished.

Prime Minister John Key has previously said that the Government is reviewing land sales out of concern that New Zealanders might become tenants in their own country.

Source: www.propertywire.com