Crafar farm decision delay alleged
Wednesday 5th October, 2011
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is accusing the Overseas Investment Office of holding off until after the election its decision on whether a Chinese firm can buy the Crafar farms.
Receiver Korda Mentha last week turned down a $171 million bid for the 16 central North Island dairy farms from a Sir Michael Fay-led consortium that includes several Maori land trusts, because it said it was still waiting for the OIA to rule on the Shanghai Penxin bid.
Mr Peters says that ruling is long overdue.
“They've had that application before them now for seven months. How they could possibly have any reason not to make a decision is beyond me because the criteria is one to be examined, they’ve had seven months to put the details together, this is being strung out for political reasons and shows how political the Overseas Investment Office is,” he says.
Mr Peters says more than 50,000 hectares of farm land has already passed into foreign hands over the past year.
Next Article: Housing barriers still too high