9. Question No. 9—FinanceTAMATI COFFEY (Labour—Waiariki) to the Associate Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 9—Finance9. TAMATI COFFEY (Labour—Waiariki) to the Associate Minister of Finance: What effect if any has the ban on foreign buyers of existing homes had on the number of foreign buyers of existing New Zealand homes?Hon DAVID PARKER (Associate Minister of Finance): The ban on foreign buyers of existing New Zealand homes—a core policy of all three Government parties and strongly supported by the public—has caused a very significant drop in the number of foreign purchasers of New Zealand homes. In the March quarter last year before the ban came into effect there were 1083 homes transferred to foreign purchasers. In the March quarter of this year there were only 204. That's a decrease of 81 percent. Even though these statistics paint only a partial picture of how well this is doing because the earlier data excluded foreign companies and trusts the numbers show that the foreign-buyer ban is yet another example of this coalition Government delivering on its promises to New Zealanders.Tamati Coffey: Where was the decline in foreign buyers most noticeable?Hon DAVID PARKER: In the March 2019 quarter the percentage of homes transferred to overseas persons dropped to just under 3.3 percent in central Auckland down from 22.2 percent in June 2018 before the ban came into effect. In the Queenstown Lakes District a year ago one in 10 homes were being transferred to overseas persons and now it's just one in 37. These of course have been two of the most overheated residential property markets in New Zealand in part due to foreign speculators. This Government has ensured that we now have a New Zealand housing market that's shaped by New Zealanders for New Zealanders. This is something that the vast majority of New Zealanders want.Darroch Ball: What's the principle underpinning the ban on foreign buyers of existing homes?Hon DAVID PARKER: The basic principle is that if you have the right to live in New Zealand long term then you have the right to buy a home here. But the Government believes that it's the birthright of New Zealanders to buy homes in New Zealand not the birthright for overseas people—for them it's a privilege. We don't think it's right for a very wealthy person from overseas to outbid our most successful people for the most beautiful bay in the Bay of Islands or a beautiful bit of land around Queenstown but we also believe that principle extends across the socio-economic scale to the most modest house in South Auckland which is none the less someone's dream.Darroch Ball: What would have happened if the ban on foreign buyers of existing New Zealand homes had not been passed before the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) came into effect? Hon DAVID PARKER: Well in effect New Zealand would have lost for ever the right to control who buys our homes. It was critical—Hon Gerry Brownlee: Rubbish—absolute rubbish. Hon DAVID PARKER: Well Mr Brownlee still doesn't understand that the terms of the agreement and its precursor the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement meant that new categories of investment could not have been introduced into the screening regime if they were not introduced before the CPTPP was passed. So while others were happy to ignore that we protected the sovereignty of New Zealand Governments both current and future by having this policy space preserved both for this Government and future Governments.