Mark Ron: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMark Ron: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 05 May 2016. Volume:713;Page:10825. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.RON MARK (Deputy Leader—NZ First) to the Minister for Land Information: Why is her Government planning to hike Overseas Investment Office application fees?Hon LOUISE UPSTON (Minister for Land Information): The Government is planning to increase most Overseas Investment Office application fees in order to fund improvements for faster application screening by the Overseas Investment Office and more responsive monitoring and enforcement.Ron Mark: What warning is a rise in fees sending to foreign buyers who are not of good character but who have the wealth to disguise the truth?Hon LOUISE UPSTON: The fees review is predominantly around giving investors greater certainty around the timing and the length of time that an application takes; currently it is about 90 days. Investor feedback has been that they want that to be turned round faster and we are looking at a 20 percent improvement.Ron Mark: Why will the Government not tell foreigners that they must present straightforward applications in which the owner and their background are clearly detailed and authenticated?Hon LOUISE UPSTON: The Overseas Investment Office does work with applicants to ensure that they are clear about the 23 criteria involved one of which is the good-character test. To give you an example of consents this year that have been rejected right from day one 57 percent have been rejected.Ron Mark: Why should a foreign owner who is later found to have lied not have to forfeit the New Zealand asset they purchased without compensation?Hon LOUISE UPSTON: The Overseas Investment Office legislation is clear. One of the conditions of consent for most of the approvals is that they must remain of good character. If the Overseas Investment Office finds that the applicant loses that good-character status there are a number of enforcement actions including forced sale—and we have seen an example of that up north.Ron Mark: Why does the Minister not just admit that these changes fit more into the Government’s promise to China to speed up the rubber stamp than into the public’s desire for more transparency and better due diligence?Hon LOUISE UPSTON: I refute that and I want to give an example of the importance of foreign investment to regions in New Zealand including Masterton where Premier Beehive which employs 150 staff in that member’s very area was bought by Australians—over $1 million of investment into that business which I would have thought that member supports. Foreign investment is clearly an important part of growing our regions.Joanne Hayes: Can the Minister provide more information about the review?Hon LOUISE UPSTON: The review that has been undertaken has been under way for quite some time and it has been looking at both the balance of the time that it has taken to process applications—whether we need target exemptions—and the need to provide greater certainty about the status of applications. Law firms Business New Zealand and Federated Farmers amongst others have been consulted and it is their feedback that we have taken into consideration with the decisions that have been made.