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CAFCA press statements
Blatant Political Advocacy and None Too Subtle Implied Threat from OIO Since when did the preservation of NZ's “international business image” and its “image overseas” become part of the job description (or mission statement) of the Overseas Investment Office? Treasury Chief urges liberalisation of Overseas Investment Act The fact that Treasury Secretary John Whitehead supports yet more liberalisation of the 2005 Overseas Investment Act is hardly surprising. The only surprising thing is the length of time it is taking the Government's backroom experts to come up with the expected liberalisation recommendations. It's been more than a year now since Bill English announced that the Act was being reviewed, once more. This is an Act that is in danger of being liberalised to death. Don't be fooled into thinking that Infratil is a “New Zealand” company The sale of Shell NZ's downstream assets to a joint venture of NZ Superannuation and Infratil has been hailed as returning this chunk of vital infrastructure to New Zealand ownership. It would be a good story if only it were true. Infratil is actually a foreign-owned company, i.e. it has more than 25% foreign ownership, which is the definition in the Overseas Investment Act. The Overseas Investment Office, for its own purposes, defines Infratil (and several other companies) as being “foreign-owned but New Zealand-controlled” and therefore exempt from the inconvenient fact of being a foreign-owned company. The most unbelievably naïve reaction to the news that a mysterious Chinese company is hoping to buy up to $1.5 billion worth of dairy farms came from Federated Farmers, which said that this is an “unintended consequence” of the NZ/China Free Trade Agreement. Pull the other one. There’s nothing unintended about this consequence, this is how “free” trade agreements are supposed to work. They all come with embedded investment agreements which protect the rights of investors from the countries which are party to the Agreement, and those foreign investors’ rights are backed up by the force of legal sanction. For example, the NZ/China FTA includes a provision that NZ cannot make or amend laws (without China’s permission) that “discriminate” against Chinese investors. So this is the outcome of what our brilliant politicians (both Labour and National) have signed us up to. Trans-Pacific Partnership: NZ jumping onto a sinking ship Talks started in Melbourne today for the US, Australia, Peru and Vietnam to join an expanded Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP, currently comprising NZ, Chile, Brunei, and Singapore, known as the P4 Agreement), with November 2011, when the US hosts APEC, as the target to seal the deal. This will be used as the backdoor means to secure a US/NZ Free Trade Agreement. Already the Americans have said that they see this as more than a mere free trade deal but as a vehicle for broader Asia/Pacific economic integration, which has enormous political implications. Alarm bells should be loudly sounding. Just what are the benefits to NZ of allowing Shania Twain to buy high country stations? Helen Clark is currently back in the country to bask in the glow of the warm fuzzies. So it’s very timely to look critically at the continued purchase of South Island high country stations by companies linked to Canadian singer, Shania Twain, who was the poster girl of the Clark government’s policy on major land sales to foreigners. The 2005 purchase of the 25,000 ha Mototapu and Mt Soho stations by companies linked to Ms Twain and her then husband were hailed by politicians and the media as signalling a new “smart, win win” approach to the controversial subject of foreigners buying up great chunks of prime NZ land. Catching up with Australia: Murray Horton Hillary Clinton Comes Bearing A Poisoned Chalice For NZ Hillary Clinton’s visit will highlight the fact that negotiations will commence in March for the US to join an expanded Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (currently comprising NZ, Chile, Brunei, and Singapore, commonly known as the P4 Agreement), with 2011 as the target to seal the deal. This will be used as the backdoor means to secure a US/NZ Free Trade Agreement. IRD Delivers Best Possible Xmas Present To Long Suffering Kiwi Taxpayers There really is a Santa Claus. And he has been revealed to be the most unlikely of people, namely the Commissioner of Inland Revenue. Just in time for Christmas IRD has persuaded the Big Four Australian-owned banks – ANZ, ASB, BNZ, and Westpac – to recognise the futility of attempting to dodge payment of the astonishing $2.2 billion of taxes that, between them, they avoided via deliberately complicated structured financial transactions. US Free Trade Agreement: Learn From Sad Experience Of US’ “Chief Ally” New Zealanders who kid themselves that “we” stand to gain from a Free Trade Agreement with the US would be wise to reflect on the rueful words of Sir Christopher Meyer, Britain’s Ambassador to the US in the runup to the US/UK invasion of Iraq. Speaking to the current public Inquiry into Britain’s part in that invasion and war: “Meyer expressed frustration that Britain was unable to gain much diplomatic leverage from its position as the US’ chief ally. Britain failed to persuade the US to liberalise trans-Atlantic air travel and, almost on the day when British commandoes joined the fighting in Afghanistan, the US imposed tariffs on imports of specialised British steel” (Press, 28/11/09). If this is the way that the US treats its “chief ally” when it comes to protecting its own trade and economic interests, how do you think little old NZ will get on? US Free Trade Agreement a Poisoned Chalice for NZ A US/NZ Free Trade Agreement would be catastrophic for any remaining economic sovereignty that New Zealand has. (16 November 2009) Overseas Investment Office ignored CAFCA's warning about Cedenco's US owner The Overseas Investment Office can't say that it wasn't warned about the problems in the US arising from the bribery allegations against SK Foods. (10 November 2009) |
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