Mr SPEAKER: Question No 5, Andrew Little.
ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the PM: Does he stand by his statement
that dairy prices are likely to be low for “a little bit longer”,
given the latest auction was a record low?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (PM): Yes.
Andrew Little: Given that dairy farm prices have already fallen by 18%
since peaking last October, what preparations has his Government undertaken
for dealing with increased sell-offs by insolvent farmers who cannot
make ends meet with dairy prices so low?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: What we have done over the course of the last 7 years,
after straightening out the mess we inherited from Labour
and with our very strong economic management, is to make the economy more efficient
and more productive. Here is a bunch of things that we have not done:
we have not brought the emissions trading scheme in straight away, we have not put
a large tax on water irrigation, we have not put a capital gains tax on every farm,
we have not increased the minimum wage to two-thirds of the average wage,
and we have not taken money out of the Primary Growth Partnership.
We are in favour of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The Labour Party—
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: —is claiming it is the farmers’ friend.
They were the policies it took to the election.
Andrew Little: What is the Government’s response
to the reports that, contrary to Bill English’s claims, the banks are already
forcing mortgagee sales on indebted farmers, and what is to stop more
of these farms being bought by overseas investors?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Firstly, I am sure that the banks will work
closely with farmers, as they typically do, because there is
approximately $35 billion worth of debt, I think, sitting on dairy farms.
One of the things the bankers will be sitting there and looking at
is they will be looking at the policies of the National-led Government,
which has supported the farmers;
they will be looking at the proposed policies of Labour, which is anti-farmers;
and they will be saying “Thank goodness National is in Government.”
Andrew Little: Given his Government has rubber-stamped 296 sales
of sensitive land to foreign buyers since the start of 2012,
how much more land is he prepared to sell overseas?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think it is important to note that the Government,
for the most part, does not actually sell land; land goes through the Overseas Investment Act
and the Overseas Investment Office.
As we know, the percentage of sales overseas is relatively small, and,
actually, NZ is not seen as necessarily the easiest place to buy land.
If you look around the OECD, we have as many restrictions
as most other countries; in some cases, more.
Andrew Little: As a lot of his Government voted down a Labour bill
that would have protected farms against being bought up by foreign investors,
what steps is he prepared to take to ensure farms that are sold
during this downturn will not end up in offshore ownership?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: This is what would have driven farmers off the land:
going into an emissions trading scheme straight away,
whacking a massive new tax on irrigation, putting a capital gains tax on every farm,
increasing the costs of wages on every farm, having less money in science and innovation,
and being opposed to trade. It is pretty simple.
Farmers in the dairy sector are subject to an international commodity price,
which is clearly on a bit of a downturn at the moment.
Last year it was in quite a big upswing. In fact, if you look between 2002 and 2006,
the on-farm forecast was about the same as what it currently is today. It is not new.
Apparently, in all those years when Labour was in office, it was fine.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Today it is not.
Andrew Little: Can he confirm that there is a late entry in the flag referendum:
a map of NZ with a “For Sale” sign over it?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member really needs to sort his game out,
because either he wants to go on to his website and change his policy,
which is to change the flag with a referendum, or he should realise that he is playing
stupid politics with something that could actually seriously benefit NZ.
That is why Labour continues to poll very poorly, because, in the end,
it is just opposed to everything that the Government is in favour of,
not because it is a good idea or a bad idea.
Otherwise, Labour members must be misleading NZers, because this is their policy.
And when you were on your little chatroom a wee while ago,
you were telling people you were in favour of it. Were you misleading them deliberately? I do not think so.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption]