High Court Crafar Farms decision - live studio debate

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Wed, 15 Feb 2012 7:00p.m.

Labour leader David Shearer and NZ First leader Winston Peters

Labour leader David Shearer and NZ First leader Winston Peters

As the High Court sets aside the Government’s decision to allow the sale of Crafar Farms to Chinese company Shanghai Penxing, Campbell Live talks to key figures from both sides of the debate.

The High Court today over-rode the decision by the Overseas Investment Office and the Government to allow the sale, saying it would need to be revisited.

Campbell Live has looked at this story many times over the past 12 months – the grouping of New Zealand farmers and investors who are battling to buy the land, rather than have it sold to offshore interests.

Tonight we spoke to Crafar Farms Purchase Group chief negotiator Steve Bignall, Labour leader David Shearer, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, Allan Crafar, and Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson, who signed off the sale.

They all came to the studio with points to make and opinions to be heard, on what has become a touchstone issue for New Zealanders.

Watch the video to see what they had to say

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Comments

17 Feb 2012 09:09p.m.

Brett wrote:

Thank you Campbell Live i thoroughly enjoyed watching this report on the Crafar farms.I came to 2 conclusions the head of the OIO should be sacked for wasting tax payers money and making NZ look like a joke, & Maurice Williamson should loose this port folio as he signed this off. I hope Mr Crafar is successful in getting his farms back. Whatever the outcome it needs to be Kiwi/iwi who should own this valuable productive land. Regards Brett.

16 Feb 2012 06:35p.m.

Solomon wrote:

National has its "Crafargate" and Labour its "Ticketgate" thanks to its MP Trevor Mallard. Both seem to be legal and profit oriented and perhaps very very short sighted!

16 Feb 2012 01:02p.m.

jason wrote:

Shanen?What return the land too the Maoris?what would we have?gorse ragwort scotch thistles swamps manuka you name it,it would be just like when the first settler arrived here.The land would be returned to its natural state.Just look around some of the Maori settlements just too see what it could become once again.

16 Feb 2012 11:51a.m.

shanen wrote:

How about the land be returned to the maori's, as the land was confiscated from them.

16 Feb 2012 08:46a.m.

James wrote:

@Morgan, You're right, but they atleast have some basic human rights we take for granted. It's not we are racist and against the Chinese public from coming to NZ, buying and working the land. It's why should we do business with a country that has almost no freedom of speech, right to assemble & mass censorship. Who brutally crushes descension. I wouldn't want to be selling our land to N.Korea, Iran or Syria either. And again, I'm not against the public from these countries coming here, buying land and working it themselves so cash returns to the NZ economy, not just shipped overseas. (And I know the pengxin group isn't a govt organisation. But you don't get that big in China without serious ties to the govt)

15 Feb 2012 11:02p.m.

Don Cowlin wrote:

Mr Fay!! Can he please advise why he moved away from NZ, Was this to protect his money from our tax system! But now, he won'ts to come back and have his imput in the grab of NZ farm land. I don't agree that land should be sold to anyone who does not live in this country. I suggest that NZ land should only be leased, and if the leasie can not show a substaintial increase in profits in a set time the land should be returned. No overseas invester should beable to own land in NZ unless they become a NZ resident

15 Feb 2012 10:20p.m.

Clint Fern wrote:

Typical that the ineffectual National Govt minister took no responsibility for the shoddy decision but ran a distraction line by defaming David Shearer saying that he was responsible for the sale of 660,00ha of land. Shearer of course only entered Parliament after John Key became PM so this is straight out misinformation. The National Party should also be asked about the $100,000+ given to it in Nov / Dec by Pengxin assoc as outlined in the Herald on 8th Dec - http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10771749 - seems very interesting timing with the decision still pending at that time.

15 Feb 2012 10:12p.m.

James wrote:

If they don't want to sell to the Chinese, just make it clear so that nobody(aka the buyer and seller) is wasting their time.

15 Feb 2012 09:47p.m.

Morgan wrote:

When americans wanted to buy kiwi land,no one opposed the cases

15 Feb 2012 09:22p.m.

Ken Taylor wrote:

It's obvious to me that we have a government that doesn't have our interests at heart. How did we get conned into voting for them?