Brown Peter: Overseas Investment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
Brown Peter: Overseas Investment Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:626;Page:21589] 
PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 We have had three speeches from National Party spokespeople and I can say that I do not think any of them understand what they are talking about—not one. I listened very carefully to all three members and they advocate an open-door policy to anybody coming here with a suitcase full of money which will enable such people to buy anything they want. That is effectively what those members said. [ 
Interruption 
] Does the member disagree with that? 
Hon David Carter 
: Absolutely. 
PETER BROWN 
: Thank you. Then what— 
Brian Connell 
: Read the  
Hansard 
. 
PETER BROWN 
: I have read the member’s  
Hansard 
—well I listened to his speech. Let those members answer this question: are they prepared to put any restrictions on foreign capital coming in? 
Hon David Carter 
: That’s what this bill does. 
PETER BROWN 
: I know what it does. What those members are saying is that because we do not accept this bill and we are not drawing the line in the same place as they are then we are—what did the member call us? Was it “Mao Tse-Tungites” or something? The fact is that we are not drawing the line where those guys are drawing the line. Of the three speeches made by the members who are sitting there in sanctimonious glory Brian Connell was the winner. He made the most stupid speech of all of those members. He said effectively that people could come here buy the land and live anywhere else in the world. I say to members that if we go back a few years this was a high-wage economy in which one could afford to sell land knowing that New Zealanders could compete for it. But they are prepared to put land on the world market knowing that New Zealanders cannot compete for it. 
Brian Connell 
: Oh poppycock. 
PETER BROWN 
: By and large they cannot compete for it. There are a few who can compete for it but by and large the average New Zealander cannot buy a house or a farm in some areas of New Zealand if they are put on the world market and those members well know that. 
Brian Connell 
: Build a wall. 
PETER BROWN 
: I tell my good friend that we are not building a wall. He has already admitted that he wants some restrictions. We are just telling him that he has not worked out where the restrictions should be. 
Brian Connell 
: Build a wall! Keep them in. 
PETER BROWN 
: If the member says during the election campaign that he wants to enable anybody to come to this country and buy anything from anybody I will say to him that he has got it totally wrong and the average New Zealander will say to him that he has got it totally wrong. 
New Zealand First stands for restrictions and controls on people who want to invest here. We say that unashamedly. We have seen this country sold to the lowest bidder—let alone the highest bidder—and members opposite were part of it. That crowd—despite saying that no ifs buts no maybes they would change the lot—carried on. In 1984 $16 billion worth was sold in this country. Can members tell me one benefit that we have got from that? We have had to buy back our airline and our railways. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: No we didn’t. We didn’t have to buy it back. 
PETER BROWN 
: At least one member realises that we did not have to buy it back but if we wanted it we had to buy it back. 
We could have let Air New Zealand go to the dogs. We could have let Tranz Rail go to the dogs. It might be too late—it might have already gone to the dogs. The crowd sitting behind me here are saying: “Let ’em come in. They’ve got a suitcase of money let ’em come in and they can buy anything we have for sale.” I had thought that the Labour Government had learnt from its experiences. Clayton Cosgrove puts his hands up. He may treat this as a joke but I can tell him that there are many people in his electorate who will agree totally with New Zealand First. They are sick and tired of someone planting a for sale notice in the land of New Zealand and saying: “Come here and buy it.” 
It may not have been Richard Prebble but I have certainly heard ACT members say that the land cannot go away. Dr Cullen said that the land cannot go away but for the average New Zealander in many cases that is just what happens. It goes away. It might as well be 12000 miles away as average New Zealanders will not be able to afford to compete on the open market. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: When did the average Kiwi own a high-country farm? Ha ha! 
PETER BROWN 
: The member laughs. He might laugh a little bit later when he gives the low-paid people their 67c and tells them to go and buy the land they want and have saved up for when foreigners come in and buy it at some exorbitant sum. I can tell the Committee about a situation where a house was sold on the Internet at three times its value.