Flavell Te Ururoa: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Flavell Te Ururoa: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:671;Page:17749] 
6. 
TE URUROA FLAVELL (Maori Party—Waiariki) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: Does he still believe that following the Government’s review of the foreign investment rules that “New Zealanders are able to feel that those things that they think are important about New Zealand are … protected”; and what influence did the outcomes of that review have on the Overseas Investment Office’s decision to grant consent for Carter Holt Harvey to sell more than 17000 hectares of central North Island forestry blocks to a company with ownership spread between 10 countries including the United States Saudi Arabia Denmark and Liechtenstein? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 Yes I do stand by the comment but I can confirm for the member that the changes the Government made in the overseas investment rules to implement the Government’s approach as outlined in my comment had no bearing on that particular case and that is because the application for consent was received on 3 December 2010 and the new regulations came into force after 13 January 2011. So the application he refers to was approved under overseas investment rules put in place a few years ago by the previous Labour Government and Winston Peters. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: What advice was received from central North Island iwi about the decision to sell off 18 North Island forestry blocks to a US-led applicant group? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The Government would not have sought advice from anyone in particular. Once an application is lodged the Overseas Investment Office deals with it consistent with the Overseas Investment Act and it makes a recommendation to the Minister. It is not a consultative process. 
Hon David Parker 
: How many proposed sales of New Zealand rural land to foreign owners have been declined pursuant to the changes that he made to the overseas investment rules which he said just then came in on 13 January 2011 noting that the likes of the Crafar farms were declined under pre-existing rules? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: I am not aware of any applications that have reached the point where a decision is required under the new rules but it is simply a matter of time before they are. My understanding is that overseas investors are taking note of the Government’s concerns about undue aggregation and also a positive direction for them to have a New Zealand content to their proposals which would make it easier to get approval. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: What checks and balances are in place with American-style corporate investment applications to ensure that commercial exchange to a foreign owner does not erode our own local institutional intellectual social and physical capital? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Those constraints are laid out in the Overseas Investment Act 2005 which was passed by the previous Government and Winston Peters. Since then the Government has made a couple of extra changes to the regulations that create higher hurdles in respect of rural land. Of course the terms of that legislation are always open for debate but we believe they strike about the right balance between protecting things that are valuable to New Zealanders and at the same time allowing the kind of overseas investment that helps to create new jobs and higher incomes in New Zealand.