Winston Peters: NZ First Leader on the changes to investment rules that allow foreign investors to buy property

New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters says he wasn't dragged kicking and screaming into a new foreign investors deal. 

The Government’s approved changes to allow people with an investor residence visa to buy or build one home, starting at $5 million. 

They’re required to invest an extra $5 million into the economy to qualify. 

Peters told Mike Hosking he supports the changes and wants to make very clear it's not a change to the foreign buyers ban. 

He says it's a change to investment rules to attract money to the country that we desperately need. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The business of foreign buyers. Government finally got across the
line on the deal. Of course you Golden visa brigade
get to buy or build something worth more than five
million dollars. Winston Peter's New Zealand First Leader.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Is with us. Good morning, good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Does it feel good now you've done it?

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Well? Look you recall twenty eighteen we were reacting to
a total shambles in the Zeeland housing market, also learning
from the Canadian experience where on the West Coast and
Vancouver in particular, there was a massive escalation and prices
because of allowing foreign buying and absentee buying at that,
absenty ownership at that and we decided to put a

(00:37):
bracket ban on things. But the reality is they were
investors who were saying, look, we've put money in the
country as we could also come and live here when
we feel like it down again. And so we had
a good hard look and said, well, it was going
to be not national parties two million, because that'll been
interfering with the market where qwis are seriously involved. But

(00:58):
it was the very top end and you've got five
million in invested. Then if you were buying a new
house or an existing house, then we'd make that an exception,
so ninety nine percent of the market would be denied
to them, they'd be accessing less than one percent of it.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Exactly, do it seemed to me observation, Correct me if
I'm wrong that yesterday you were a bit angsty about it,
angry about it, upset about it, whatever the case may be.
Did you have to get dragged kicking and screaming to
this particular conclusion?

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Now? What my answer was about those who so set
in the mainstream media they can't get their head around
it that this is not a change to the foreign buyers. Man,
it's a change through the investment rules to attract people
to come to this country for money that we desperately need.
And it's the different emphasis if you had listened to

(01:48):
seven point thirty want to report. The first thing they
set out to my interview was that it was about
living the foreign buyers. Maan, Now this is the breathtaking
stuff I just finished the interview pointed out that they
were accessing in one percent of the market and nine
percent of the market was available to the illness. And
they still said that. So my anxiety was around misrepresentation well, that's.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
What you get for dealing with low reentis Winston. I mean,
what can I say?

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, look at the thing. I was part of the
mainstream media and you were.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Well as far as the split we had luxon on
before he was keen to split. So in other words,
five million, four Queenstown and Auckland something else around the
rest of the country. You didn't seem to like that.
What was your issue with that?

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Because when you did the calculations it was so marginal.
We did those calculations around the rest of the country, say,
adjusted pro rata on values across the rest of the country,
there wasn't a great deal of difference. There's a lot
of places up north of them worth more than five million.
There are a lot of places even in a Tarna,
worth more than five million. And so it didn't work.

(02:55):
And we said, no, stick to the blanket five million.
If they're investing in they want to buy a five
minon dollar houses, will not be a serious unerous charge
against them.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
No, exactly the obviously this you must have. You mean,
no one's traveled around the world more than you have
in the last couple of years, and your role as
foreign minister, it must have struck you as the obvious
thing to do that you can't be in the world
saying come to New Zealand. Look at New Zealand. We're
open in New Zealand. Help us out and at the
same time make them rent. I mean that must have

(03:26):
struck you as being absurd.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Well, what concerned me was that we were having an
investment in New Zealand thrust without answering the question why
New Zealand, and this was one of the answers to
why New Zealand for wealthy foreign investors. Yes, this struck
me as unusual. But also I was in Canada not
so many years ago when I learned about firsthand the

(03:50):
appalling offshore bidding that was going on, driving the west
coast of Vancouver market mad at the very expense of
cross to the local people, and we decided we needed
to avoid that.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
What'd you make of Hopkins's reaction yesterday? He would still
ban everybody? I mean, does that must worry you as
a as a country that's looking to get people here
to grow stuff. Then suddenly we're going to go back
to nineteen eighty three if he gets back into power.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Oh, the thing is about mister Hopkins with the greatest respect.
What does he know about anything to do with business.
He's never been out of a university by labor party
hierarchy background, has never had a real job. Wouldn't I
how to run the school tuch shop. So I'm not
surprised at this sort of massive reaction from him when

(04:40):
all we're doing is saying for serious prime investors who
could bring bid into this country, then there is one
benefit that we need to add to our incentivized to
invest in New Zealand plan.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
Yeah, can't argue with it, all right, Appreciate it very much.
Winston Peter's New Zealand first Leader, got there at last.
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