Little Andrew: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLittle Andrew: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 11 August 2015. Volume:707;Page:5564. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]5.ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that dairy prices are likely to be low for “a little bit longer” given the latest auction was a record low?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.Andrew Little: Given that dairy farm prices have already fallen by 18 percent since peaking last October what preparations has his Government undertaken for dealing with increased sell-offs by insolvent farmers who cannot make ends meet with dairy prices so low?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: What we have done over the course of the last 7 years after straightening out the mess we inherited from Labour and with our very strong economic management is to make the economy more efficient and more productive. Here is a bunch of things that we have not done: we have not brought the emissions trading scheme in straight away we have not put a large tax on water irrigation we have not put a capital gains tax on every farm we have not increased the minimum wage to two-thirds of the average wage and we have not taken money out of the Primary Growth Partnership. We are in favour of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The Labour Party—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Rt Hon JOHN KEY: —is claiming it is the farmers’ friend. They were the policies it took to the election.Andrew Little: What is the Government’s response to the reports that contrary to Bill English’s claims the banks are already forcing mortgagee sales on indebted farmers and what is to stop more of these farms being bought by overseas investors?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Firstly I am sure that the banks will work closely with farmers as they typically do because there is approximately $35 billion worth of debt I think sitting on dairy farms. One of the things the bankers will be sitting there and looking at is they will be looking at the policies of the National-led Government which has supported the farmers; they will be looking at the proposed policies of Labour which is anti-farmers; and they will be saying “Thank goodness National is in Government.”Andrew Little: Given his Government has rubber-stamped 296 sales of sensitive land to foreign buyers since the start of 2012 how much more land is he prepared to sell overseas?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think it is important to note that the Government for the most part does not actually sell land; land goes through the Overseas Investment Act and the Overseas Investment Office. As we know the percentage of sales overseas is relatively small and actually New Zealand is not seen as necessarily the easiest place to buy land. If you look around the OECD we have as many restrictions as most other countries; in some cases more.Andrew Little: As a lot of his Government voted down a Labour bill that would have protected farms against being bought up by foreign investors what steps is he prepared to take to ensure farms that are sold during this downturn will not end up in offshore ownership?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: This is what would have driven farmers off the land: going into an emissions trading scheme straight away whacking a massive new tax on irrigation putting a capital gains tax on every farm increasing the costs of wages on every farm having less money in science and innovation and being opposed to trade. It is pretty simple. Farmers in the dairy sector are subject to an international commodity price which is clearly on a bit of a downturn at the moment. Last year it was in quite a big upswing. In fact if you look between 2002 and 2006 the on-farm forecast was about the same as what it currently is today. It is not new. Apparently in all those years when Labour was in office it was fine.Mr SPEAKER: Order!Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Today it is not.Andrew Little: Can he confirm that there is a late entry in the flag referendum: a map of New Zealand with a “For Sale” sign over it?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member really needs to sort his game out because either he wants to go on to his website and change his policy which is to change the flag with a referendum or he should realise that he is playing stupid politics with something that could actually seriously benefit New Zealand. That is why Labour continues to poll very poorly because in the end it is just opposed to everything that the Government is in favour of not because it is a good idea or a bad idea. Otherwise Labour members must be misleading New Zealanders because this is their policy. And when you were on your little chatroom a wee while ago you were telling people you were in favour of it. Were you misleading them deliberately? I do not think so.