Sage EugenieHon EUGENIE SAGE (Minister of Conservation): Te Māngai o Te Whare tēnā koe. The Greens are pleased to support the Overseas Investment (Urgent Measures) Amendment Bill. Like all countries New Zealand relies on overseas-based investment to contribute to economic growth. It can improve productivity it can enhance export opportunities and improve employment and it also brings new ideas innovation and relationships that connect us with the world. We want to be seen as an attractive place to do business where we get overseas investment which promotes a sustainable productive and inclusive economy and we welcome that sort of investment. But it's also a privilege for overseas persons to own or control New Zealand assets. That is why one of the first things this Government did was to strengthen the ministerial directive to the Overseas Investment Office to close the loopholes that the National Government had opened so wide that it saw large areas of rural land being sold offshore. It was why one of the second things this Government did was the one home to live" test to reduce and avoid overseas speculation in our housing markets. We want overseas investment where it generates a sustainable productive and inclusive economy. But in a COVID-19 world which the Opposition doesn't seem to recognise there will be a major change. There will be businesses that become distressed that are likely to fail and that are significant businesses in the New Zealand economy. David Seymour: And now they won't have any capital. Hon EUGENIE SAGE: And it is wrong Mr Seymour. If Mr Seymour read the bill he would find that there are changes that streamline the way in which applications can be considered. One of the changes is to reduce the screening when low-risk investment is wanted by New Zealand companies and they want to access that lending from overseas. So it is making the Act more streamlined and the processes more efficient. But there are distressed businesses which are a cornerstone of our tourism sector. We do not want those passing into overseas hands at the moment if it is just because they aren't able to do business at the moment. So that is why it is absolutely critical that we—as Australia has done in reducing the threshold for screening to zero in a COVID era—are doing that with this bill. It is for an emergency period only. It won't last for ever but it is intended to ensure that critical New Zealand businesses which are finding it difficult don't end up being totally overseas-owned just because of that economic distress. So the changes in this bill are part of the Government's whole business response package. They're ensuring that we've got the right checks and balances to protect businesses that are important to our national security our economy and our communities. The changes that I mentioned earlier in terms of streamlining they will enable applications to go more quickly through the process because the Office of Overseas Investment—contrary to what some National members have suggested—has been working to improve its practices significantly. It has been reducing the times required for applications to be considered and decided but has also sought to ensure that we recognise the privilege of owning things like rural land in New Zealand. So these lower-risk transactions won't need to be screened and the application processes for remaining applications will be simplified. In this whole area of a national interest test that is to recognise that on this side of the House we have significant infrastructure in the telecommunications space in the technology space and if it's advising on national security issues that it is in the national interest for applications to purchase those companies to be considered. Really? But the ability for the Ministry of Finance to consider those and see whether they're purchased by overseas interests is actually in New Zealand's national interest. So that is what this bill does. It provides the screening of any application to buy more than 25 percent of a New Zealand company by an overseas person or to increase the investment stake by an overseas person beyond 50 percent for this emergency COVID period. Then when that is over there will be this national interest test which means applications will be screened due diligence will be done—and as Minister Parker noted that will be done relatively quickly—and then if needed the Minister can intervene. Also to counter some of the points made by the Opposition five years ago the Overseas Investment Office was very poorly resourced. In Budget 2018-19 there was additional revenue provided to the office—particularly to work in the enforcement space—because under the previous Government we saw very little action taken against those who broke the law. With more resources there's been more effort here and what we've seen is a significant increase in the enforcement actions to ensure that the law is complied with. In 2014-15 there were three enforcement actions. In 2019-20 there were 43. This Government is about sound law and then ensuring that law is enforced. One of the other parts of the bill that Opposition members may be interested in is the issues around character because currently if an overseas investor wants to acquire sensitive assets the investor test must be satisfied. That means that an investor's character capacity and capability are assessed to ensure that they're not likely to act inappropriately or bring New Zealand into disrepute. Currently that investor test requires a large amount of information to be reviewed. It's time-consuming both for potential investors and applicants and for the Overseas Investment Office and that test only looks at the character of individuals the directors and those who control the company. What the bill is doing is ensuring that there is a simplified investor test and it looks at the character of corporate entities and not just individuals. That should reduce the amount of information that is required and make the whole process much more streamlined. So in terms of the emergency measures the simplification of some of the processes and also the national interest test we are ensuring that we protect the key parts of the New Zealand economy while also ensuring that the door is open for overseas investment which assists in making a productive sustainable and inclusive economy. I commend the bill to the House."