Peters Winston: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers Questions to MembersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumePeters Winston: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members[Sitting date: 05 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:3131. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements; if so why?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes because I believe them to be correct at the time they were made.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Does he stand by his statement that he would “hate to see New Zealanders as tenants in their own country”; if so why did his Government so avidly support Shanghai Pengxin Group’s purchase of farms in the central North Island and now 10 dairy farms south of Kaikohe in Northland?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: In answer to the first part of the question yes.Mr SPEAKER: Supplementary question the Rt Hon Winston Peters.Hon Steven Joyce: Opposing investment in Northland again.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Oh here is “Big Ears” again. He lost in Northland pretty badly.Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I am going to invite the member to stand and ask the supplementary question.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Why has his Government encouraged China to control so much of New Zealand’s dairy infant formula from production testing through to marketing and sale of New Zealand’s premium agricultural product?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The position of the Government is not necessarily to encourage investment from anywhere but to allow a framework whereby if people want to invest they are free to do so but they have to meet the conditions set out in the Overseas Investment Act. They have to be approved by the Overseas Investment Office. Actually the Government thinks investments by Inner Mongolia YiliIndustrial Group Co. LtdYashili New Zealand Dairy and Bright and others have actually been sensible investments in the same way that we think Fonterra’s investment in Beingmate was also a sensible investment.Rt Hon Winston Peters: When will the National Government understand the law of supply and demand which sees Auckland housing demand massively inflated by record levels of immigration into Auckland and record levels of buying Auckland homes by offshore interests and do what the Australian Federal Government has done?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: As I understand it in Australia what they have done is they have stopped in theory non-residents from buying existing properties but in fact the actions of the Australian Government over the weekend essentially are saying that those measures were not working and required greater enforceability—a testimony to why those things are very difficult to enforce. The second thing is that despite the steps the Australian Government has taken I am pretty sure I am right in saying that Sydney house prices have risen at the same rate as Auckland’s but I actually think they have risen at a faster rate.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Do not all those answers add up to the fact that this Government whilst making dog whistles about foreign ownership before the general election has done absolutely nothing to stop it since?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: There is foreign investment. If one looks at a table—and funnily enough I looked at one this morning—the bulk of that foreign investment actually comes from Australia. China if the member is being specific about China is quite a small investor in New Zealand. But interestingly enough what I think is really important is that anybody who comes to New Zealand from overseas to invest follows the Overseas Investment Act. I am interested to note of course that the author of that Act was the Rt Hon Winston Peters.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Answers to parliamentary questions are meant to be terse and to the point. That last statement was a demonstrable lie.Mr SPEAKER: Order! I would also be grateful if the member could equally ask short and terse supplementary questions.