John MacDonald: Less eyebrow raising, more glad-eye for foreign investors

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

I think we need to get over ourselves here in New Zealand when it comes to foreign investment.

And it looks like we’re going to have to get over ourselves - whether we want to or not - with the Government’s plan to make it easier for foreign investors to buy New Zealand companies and properties.

The way I’d describe it is that, at the moment, the Government thinks we treat overseas investors as if they’re going through customs - and we’re all suspicious about their motivations for coming here.

Whereas it thinks we should be more like the duty free shop, putting down the welcome mat and selling New Zealand to overseas investors. You know, give them a bit more of the glad eye and less of the raised eyebrow.

And I’m all for that. Because modern New Zealand was built on overseas investment.

I’m not saying it’s been perfect. But I agree with the Government’s plan to open the doors more to foreign investors.

Because the alternative is to keep languishing, blindly pressing-on under our own steam, convincing ourselves that we’re a country that can do without foreign money. And anyone who thinks that is dreaming.

So we had two announcements about this at the weekend. The first came on Saturday when Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced that the coalition government had agreed to change the laws around foreign investment, saying the way we’re doing it at the moment is the worst in the world.

That, out of 38 countries, we come last in terms of being open to investment from overseas.

He says the Government wants to reverse the idea that investors need to convince the Government why they should be allowed to invest here; and change it to us telling investors why they should be coming. So more encouragement and less policing.

Oliver Hartwich, who’s a foreign investment expert with the New Zealand Initiative think tank, thinks we shouldn’t just be making it easier for investors to spend money on businesses here. He thinks we should be going the whole hog and making it easier for them to buy houses here too.

And wouldn’t you know it, Winston Peters - who’s always been anti foreigners buying houses here - says he’d be open to changing his position if the right investors came along.

So, after David Seymour announced on Saturday that the Government plans to loosen the rules around foreign investment, Winston Peters made his big announcement that NZ First wants to see a $100 billion Future Find set-up, to ensure we have the money for all the big infrastructure projects that need doing.

The money would have to come from overseas. Which is why he said this morning that he might not be so hard-line on foreigners buying houses here, if it means getting the type of investment he wants.

I thought it was kind of weird that Winston Peters said this morning that he hadn’t seen anything before David Seymour announced the changes to the foreign investment rules on Saturday. But, nevertheless, they seem to be on the same page. And I’m with them on this one.

I think we have no choice but to make it easier for foreign investors to buy New Zealand companies and properties. For the simple reason that we’re a tiny outfit and we’re dreaming if we think we can do it all on our own.

And because, if we don’t attract these investors, they’ll go somewhere else. Somewhere else that doesn’t put up as many barriers as we do.

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