Bollocks, Maurice.

I have several friends, some lifelong friends, who are of Chinese origin. Some new arrivals in there too.

And I'm against sales to overseas ownership.

This is about being sold down the river, and ending up various degrees of Nigeria.

The word is 'disenfranchised'.

One of the problems with the weak intellects requires to tout growth/markets/no limits, is that they have to 'fit' what they hear to what they think (too strong - 'instinctively know' would be a better description) and nowhere in the Manual of Freemarketeering does it mention lack of options.

Limits, repression, disenfranchise, things like that.

They don't exist.

So it has to be racism.

Sigh.

 The way Williamson uses the term 'pommy' is designed to be offensive. The problem with this debate is that  if you don't agree with overseas ownership you are racist - (I wonder if Williamson means xenophobic? ) Kind of like the  "if you are white you are a racist " argument or "if you are male you are a rapist" argument. If that is the best case he can make for foreign investment he ought not to be a politician. The average NZer can clearly distinguish between 'overseas investor' who lives in let's say Hong Kong, and 'resident investor of Chinese extraction'. It is the former that causes the disquiet, I would propose. The latter has chosen to commit to NZ as a lifestyle choice, so is one of us, not just as a business opportunity.

So there is a sensible debate here - how much investment is good, and how much is too much? On balance overseas investment is a good thing for NZ. However, if all our farms were in foreign ownership, we would be a nation of serfs. Clearly that would never happen, but what is the right balance? We are unlikely to find out if we throw abuse at each other.

Sack Williamson now, he's long past his sell by date.  He must be wanting to sell a farm that no Kiwi will pay a small fortune for.  

You know Maurice......... it's not the first time your mouth gets going before your brain has engaged.......... you want to

sign...? youv'e been told that's the desired outcome more like....and pulling the Race card is the best defence you can

find to public uneasiness...? Boy you really  are low rent, low value politics.

You are effectively calling a large part of the N.Z. voting public..........Dumb assed rednecks who wouldn't know a sweet

deal when they saw one .  

I've  got to say they (John Boy, Billy Bob n Co) picked the right man for the job though..............why because your

expendable......... can't you see that........duh.

No Maurice what they have you doing is signalling intent to a fait accompli and guage the backlash at your expense

genius. 

You sadly lack any tactical skills...that's why your third rate......that's why your the ...Right Man FOR THIS JOB....duh.

The only person calling the racism toss is Maurice.

The issue has nothing to do with a Scottish person buying a farm or a Chinese person purchasing land here. 

The issue is about countries or foreign owned companies purchasing land and I agree with like minded New Zealanders that this is not a good idea and is infact disastrous.

To sell our countries land is to sell our children's and grandchildren's assets and I don't think that any government or person should be able to do so.

Winston Peters is a shoe in at the next election with incompetent clowns like Maurice at the helm.

This issues with the proposal from Natural Dairy to buy the Crafar farms are:

- The credibility of the buyers is doubtful (May Wang, Jack Chen and there wealthy Chinese backers). See:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10662299

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10665100

http://www.nzfarmersweekly.co.nz/article/8134.html

http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/PrinterFriendlyPressReleases/Chinese%20farms%2010-5-10.pdf

- Do they have experience in running farms or processing milk? NO!

- Is the money being used to buy the farms from legitimate sources or is it dirty money being laundered out of China?

- The amount of rural land to be sold could set a dangerous precedent - do NZ people really want to sell large tracks of our land to foreign investors when most countries do not allow this?

- Are our politicians being bought through campaign donations to enable these people to get their hands on valuable NZ farmland?

Here's one for Maurice...

"Russia announced a 12-month extension of its grain export ban on Thursday, raising fears about a return to the food shortages and riots of 2007-08 which spread through developing countries dependent on imports."

...>http://www.cnbc.com/id/38979837

Can ya join the dots Maurice?

why dont we sell long term leases instead??? long enough to allow them to generate profits, make it worthwhile to invest in infrastructure/plants etc. But short enough so that some time in the future we can get it back .

It's Time For The Friday Smile..........yay

I chose this thread to go out on because I feel all you thinking  people deserve a chance to rebuff Maurice's claim that you are nothing short of redneck imbeciles.

and so here's one for Maurice          "Albinos ,............can't say fairer than that  ! "

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/4093013/Ministers-racism-comments-ill-timed-humour

"Prime Minister John Key is downplaying comments from Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson that opponents to land sales to foreigners were sometimes being racist, saying it was a case of humour backfiring.

But Mr Key, who has voiced concerns about foreign ownership and said he did not want New Zealanders to become tenants in their own country, said Mr Williamson was probably being flippant.

''Maurice is known for his strong sense of humour and I think it was on display yesterday,'' he told media in Auckland today."

Funny, there don't seem to be a lot of laughter on this thread.  

Williamson pulls out the racism card.  Doesn't consider the countries long term economic benefit might be of concern...

From an Australian Broadcasting Corporation link, which, for some reason, focuses on the countries long term economic benefit....

As the world's available farming land shrinks in the face of population growth, climate change and soil degradation, Australia's vast tracts of land are going to be increasingly important for global food security. Overseas players are already buying up Australian agricultural resources and interest is growing. There are economic benefits but is the sell-off in Australia's long term interests? Reporter, Stephen Crittenden.

.....

It is of little surprise to me that a politician would have little long term view, and would attribute the concern to racism.

... another snippet from that Australian Broadcasting Corporation link ....

Richard Bovill: I don't think we should necessarily focus on the Chinese. I think we should focus on what's happening across the board. If the Chinese come in and buy businesses in Australia, it wouldn't be any different to what we've seen in the dairy industry, the meat industry, what we're seeing in grain handling; we've already seen one of the major grain handlers taken over by the Canadians. Foreign investment in Australia is an open book. The fact is, the model in Australia allows anybody to come in and acquire our assets. It really doesn't matter whether it's the Chinese, the Canadians, the Americans, the French or the New Zealanders, and they're all in here, and they're all acquiring our value-adding assets. We are quite dumb when it comes to our long-term future.

There are both racists and non-racists supporting the no-foreigner idea.  So to say it's solely either way is wrong.  Maurice was highlighting the x % who oppose for racist reasons.  Being from the South I know plenty of them.  And there are others who oppose it for the fair reason of not wanting to sell off our resources.

Let's apply it to housing too thanks

I canot sai a lot- I'm not a reel Kiwi.

http://www.insiders.hk/reports/allFilings_ch.php?stockCode=0462

That website (chinese only, sorry) claims to have tracked down insider trading in Natural Dairy.

It isn't about racism, it is about protecting NZ's most significant industry from a bunch of opportunistic crooks.

And Williamson is either too stupid to see it, or thinks the rest of us are too stupid to call him on his bullshit.

I personally don't think people care where the buyers come from overseas. Whether it is the poms, the yanks or the chinese. It is more the fact that it is overseas owners that are buying our land that is the problem.

Is anyone else over the whole race card for people who dont get their own way?

No people - there is no scientific prove that the 7.4 early wake up this morning (earthquake) in the Canterbury Region is caused by ground contamination of dairy farming.

Williamson is bang on! The racist,ignorant bile about the "yellow peril" taking our land (and no doubt wanting to ravish our wimmin folk too) is pathetic but typical of small mind xenephobic NZ.

If it were white Eurpeans wanting to buy land you would not hear a peep from the lowforeheaded ninnys...

We were in Beijing recently and went to a market which requires bargaining.  We were taken by our Chinese tour guide. My wife was going to buy a jersey and the seller was extolling it as genuine cashmir (on clothing label) etc.  The guide took her by the arm and away from the stall.   She said, "You are New Zealand. They are Chinese and not like you, Chinese  not to be trusted and don't tell the truth"  Say no more.

It was not possible in Dubai for foreigners to own property until around 2003/2004 and since then it has been a wealth boom town, going crazy and not without financial crisis woo on the precipice of bankruptcy.

Prior to foreign investment, Dubai was a little like NZ with good quality restaurants available at low prices,etc...  

The old Dubai international airport that I stopped over in around 1996 wasn't much different from the old Wellington airport. 

Is Dubai a future role model for NZ?

"It is 100% impossible for a NZ company to buy and own an inch of Chinese land.  Why should NZ allow Chinese interests to buy huge hectars of farmland? "

Because legally they can, and because some wish to profit by selling them our land?'

Look, I'm as dead set against becoming a serf to foreigners in my own land as much as the next guy, but you need to understand the legalities involved.

The Chinese buy our land because it is not unlawful for them to do so.

That it isn't lawful for Kiwis (or anyone else) to buy land in China is entirely beside the point.

We accept that we cannot buy land in China because those are thier rules, just as the Chinese accept that they can buy land in NZ because those are our rules.

If we stopped permitting foreign interests to own NZ land, foreign interests will evenyually accept it as our new rules, after lobbying a wee bit first in the hope that they can get around them.

If we do not want foreign ownership of NZ land, we must change the laws, but there will be many NZers who won't want that to happen, because not everyone is against the idea.

Guys like Alan Crafar, for instance, who value the size of their bank balance more than they value their own nation, and there are a lot of NZers like Crafar...more than you'd suspect, I'm sure.