Browning Steffan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Browning Steffan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 01 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:1775. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
8. 
STEFFAN BROWNING (Green) 
 to the  
Minister for Land Information 
: Do overseas owned companies need Overseas Investment Office approval to exclusively occupy coastal marine space? 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (Minister for Land Information) 
: 
 No. When the overseas investment regime was reviewed by the Labour Government in 2003-04 it agreed that the overseas investment regime should not apply to aquaculture. Also as coastal permits are not interests in land the transfer of a coastal permit to an overseas-owned company is not an overseas investment in sensitive land. 
Steffan Browning 
: Why is aquaculture not covered by the Overseas Investment Act when it involves overseas ownership sensitive land and an exclusive occupation of space? 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: I believe I answered that: a review was conducted by the Labour Government in 2003-04 and that Government agreed not to include aquaculture in the regime. 
Steffan Browning 
: Considering that the majority overseas-owned New Zealand King Salmon’s plans for nine new farms would exclude New Zealanders from 200 hectares of iconic protected marine space and produce nutrient waste equivalent to half a million people and that more than half the profits and half the salmon can be expected to go offshore is the Minister going to look at reviewing the Act so that New Zealanders will be able to maintain that space? 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think I made it very clear in my answers to the primary question and the supplementary question to it that this issue is not covered by the Overseas Investment Act and it is not part of my portfolio. The member is asking questions about coastal marine space and the right to occupy it which has nothing to do with my portfolio responsibilities. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: And that is how the member should answer the question. 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: I did. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Yes; OK. 
Metiria Turei 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question although containing quite a bit of information actually asked whether the Minister will consider reviewing the law. The Minister has not answered that question which was the question asked. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: The Minister has responded that that is not within his portfolio. 
Steffan Browning 
: Given that the Overseas Investment Office does deal with sensitive land and the foreshore and seabed is included in that—albeit that it is marine space in terms of what the Minister has answered to date—and given the fact that New Zealand King Salmon 51 percent owned by the Malaysian Tiong family has needed Overseas Investment Office consent for its land-based operations including freshwater salmon hatcheries what difference does the Minister draw between a freshwater situation and the iconic marine waters of the Marlborough Sounds? 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: A Crown Law opinion was sought by the Labour Government back in the 2003-04 period which indicated that indeed the exclusive right to occupy coastal marine space was not involving sensitive land and therefore I have to say to the member that it is not part of Land Information’s responsibility. 
Steffan Browning 
: What will be the limits or restrictions on the exclusive occupation of our iconic coastal marine space by foreign-owned companies under this Government? 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: I am just terribly reluctant to keep answering questions that are not part of my portfolio. I do not know anything about that right to occupy marine space. It is covered by other Ministers and the member should ask those Ministers.