Williams Andrew: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Williams Andrew: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 13 March 2013. Volume:688;Page:8472. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
10. 
ANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister for Land Information 
: How much of New Zealand farmland is foreign-owned? 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (Minister for Land Information) 
: 
 The Overseas Investment Office does not keep statistics on current ownership— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Why not? 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: —of farmland in New Zealand. I will get to that; just wait. The role of the Overseas Investment Office is to approve applicants based on the criteria set down in the Act and the regulations. Absolute statistics of foreign ownership are impossible to produce because one foreigners are free to sell their land to New Zealanders without any notification; and two many foreign owners eventually become New Zealanders by way of citizenship. 
Andrew Williams 
: How can that information be correct when independent analysis by economist Bill Rosenberg last year—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! The member has a right to have his question heard. 
Andrew Williams 
: How can that information be correct when independent analysis by economist Bill Rosenberg last year put the real figure of foreign ownership at more than 1.2 million hectares or 8.7 percent of all farmland in New Zealand? 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: I repeat as I said in my answer to the primary question it is not possible to know that because many many foreigners who do buy land then become citizens after several years of being here so they are now New Zealand owners. Secondly many foreigners after having bought land here have then sold it to a New Zealander so they do not need to notify anybody and it is not possible to track those statistics. I would suggest that Mr Rosenberg’s numbers are a bit shonky. 
Andrew Williams 
: I seek leave to table the report by Bill Rosenberg entitled “Overseas Ownership of Land Far Greater Than the 1% the PM claims”. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? Yes there is. 
Andrew Williams 
: Given the huge discrepancy between the independent analysis of Dr Rosenberg—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I am having trouble hearing the supplementary question. I apologise to the member. Could he start again. 
Andrew Williams 
: Thank you. Given the huge discrepancy between the independent analysis of Dr Rosenberg and that of the Minister’s office how can he have any confidence in the quality of advice he is receiving from the Overseas Investment Office; or is he just skewing the figures? 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: The member is trying to get me to choose between that terribly impartial economist Bill Rosenberg and the fact that the Overseas Investment Office says it is not possible to tell the actual status of each owner of each land title because of it having been sold on to a New Zealander and not being recorded or them becoming a citizen. So I do not quite know where the member says there is a discrepancy. The Overseas Investment Office says it cannot do it. Bill Rosenberg has got some magical crystal ball or a Ouija board and has come up with a number. 
Andrew Williams 
: Why does his office and the Overseas Investment Office continue to skew the figures and the information of foreign ownership by excluding all land purchased—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Andrew Williams 
: Can I start again? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Yes the member can start again. 
Andrew Williams 
: Thank you—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! If there is not going to be an opportunity given because of interjections being thrown across the House then I am going to have to ask a member to leave the Chamber. 
Andrew Williams 
: Why have his office and the Overseas Investment Office skewed the figures of foreign ownership by excluding all land purchased prior to 2002? 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: The Overseas Investment Office has not skewed anything. It will publish figures back as far as the member likes. This graph here shows the amount of land sold to foreigners under the last Labour Government relative to the land sold under the 4 years of the current National Government. I have to say that in just 1 year 2006 a year when the Hon Winston Peters was a Minister in that Government 383000 hectares— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Maurice Williamson knows full well that New Zealand First had signed a confidence and supply agreement not a coalition agreement with the Government and I was a Minister outside of Cabinet— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I thank the member for his contribution but that is not a point of order. Supplementary question Andrew Williams. [ 
Interruption 
] Order! 
Andrew Williams 
: The last is the best one. In the interests of transparency and good policy-making will the Government consider an official land register which is being released as a New Zealand First policy today which would allow the public to see once and for all how much their country is being flogged off; if not why not? 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: No. Consideration to such a scheme has been given in the past. We have also had a look at it. It would become so problematic to actually identify the information because you would then have to make every ordinary New Zealander somehow keep reporting back to a registry if they were selling their land on or if they had been a foreigner and became a New Zealand citizen you would have to have their citizenship status changed. So no I do not believe it is that serious a problem and we certainly would not do it. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I seek leave to table the evidence that the greatest number of declines and refusals of the Overseas Investment Office was when I was the Minister. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Could I just have the source of that evidence please? 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Me. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No I am not putting that.