Cunliffe David: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCunliffe David: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 06 April 2016. Volume:712;Page:10240. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]12.Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour—New Lynn) to the Minister for Land Information: Can she assure the public that the Overseas Investment Office has not approved any applications by foreign investors implicated in the Mossack Fonseca tax avoidance scandal; if so how?Hon LOUISE UPSTON (Minister for Land Information): The Overseas Investment Office is aware of concerns and the Inland Revenue Department has requested information regarding one application connected with Mossack Fonseca.Hon David Cunliffe: Are offshore trusts with New Zealand - based trustees or custodians such as UnaEnergy Trustees considered an overseas person by the Overseas Investment Office?Hon LOUISE UPSTON: It is quite clear in the Overseas Investment Act as to who is an overseas person for whom we require consent for them to purchase any sensitive land or significant business assets and fishing quota. It is someone who is not a New Zealand citizen or is not ordinarily resident in New Zealand or an entity that is 25 percent or more owned or controlled by an overseas person.Hon David Cunliffe: I seek leave to table a media release by the Overseas Investment Office dated 4 April 2016 entitled “Overseas Investment Office to provide clarity to custodian companies” which remains silent—Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is no need to add anything further. If it is a media release from the Overseas Investment Office it is freely available to members.Hon David Cunliffe: When the Overseas Investment Office says it has taken a lighter touch in processing applications does this include blind ignorance of potential tax evasion trusts and overseas criminals such as those potentially linked to Mossack Fonseca’s New Zealand partner companies?Hon LOUISE UPSTON: As I have said in this House before the Act is very clear about the fact that it is a privilege to own New Zealand land and assets. We actually have one of the more robust regimes around the world which makes sure that we get that balance right in knowing that New Zealand is open to foreign investment but absolutely the criteria are clear. Good character is one of those criteria and the Overseas Investment Office looks at that criterion very significantly. More important it is not just a condition when the application is put forward. It is an ongoing condition of the consent. So if at a later point there is ever an issue associated with someone who has been given approval then the Overseas Investment Office can and does take action with that breach.Hon David Cunliffe: Can the Minister confirm that the Overseas Investment Office has in the last 5 years approved 99.85 percent of all its applications and that it has too few staff and investigative resource even to routinely check whether the application conditions have been met; if so why is the Overseas Investment Office pandering to the 1 percent of international high rollers who are playing fast and loose with New Zealand’s regulatory regime as shown in the Panama Papers?Mr SPEAKER: Either of those two supplementary questions the Hon Louise Upston.Hon LOUISE UPSTON: I am happy to report to the House that the Overseas Investment Office has a very strong regime. One of the parts of that is to make sure in the very first quality control of the applications that are received—if he looks at the statistics for February alone this year that member will see the high number that were rejected and not accepted for processing. What that does mean is that at the end of the day of those that are accepted yes we will have a higher number of those approved because those that will not get approved are kicked out at the very first touch.