Latest / The SME Stream / Toby Williams: Federated Farmers spokesperson says rules are needed around levels of investment in Overseas Investment Act reforms

Transcript

Toby Williams: Federated Farmers spokesperson says rules are needed around levels of investment in Overseas Investment Act reforms · The SME Stream

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Overseas investment rules are set to be loosened, with the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Associate Financements to David Seymour calling our current rules quote
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the worst in the developed world and if you look
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: at the score, it's hard not to argue with. We
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: rank thirty eighth out of thirty eight countries in the
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: OECD for openness to investment. So once these rules are changed,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: and it's going to go before Cabinet, they've agreed principles already,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: it'll be done by the end of next year. Will
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: we see a whole bunch of Kiwi farmland being sold off?
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: I'm joined by Toby Williams, Fed Farmers Meet and wheelchair Toby.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the show. Good to have you on. What
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: do you expect to see from this?
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: We actually make supportive of these rule changes. What we
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: had in the previous government. We actually had the special
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Forestry Test which took a balance away from between farming
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: and the forestry, so it was only six weeks compared
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: to two years to be able to buy a farm
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: keeper farming in six weeks of forestry, so shortening this
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: up as great, so down till probably about one year
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: for either, but also having the balance between them. So
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: if you're going to buy Farmlan for forestry or Farmiland
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: to keep farming is going to be the same test.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: And we're really supportive of.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Do you think there's a lot of farmers wanting to
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: sell to overseas buyers?
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: Well, no, I don't think there's a lot of farms
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: wanted to sell to overseas buyers. But you know, we're
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: looking at a certain class of farm that overseas buyers
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: is going to be interested in, and those are the
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: bigger fans that really keevy farmers can't afford to buy. Anyway,
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: we wouldn't expect foreign owners to be coming in buying
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: up farms that first farm owners should be able to buy.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: So we expect to see some rules in around here
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: about the levels of investments that are going to be.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: But what we've seen on the St Coast is basically
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: a foreign investment in the family in which stayed farming.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: It's there a massive boost for the regional economy and
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: it's for the environment for the farm itself.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Is there in terms of overall foreign ownership? Is there
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: something that fed?
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: Is there?
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: A number of FED farmers wouldn't be happy with I
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: understand at the moment, it's about ten percent of agricultural
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: land in Australia's foreign ron. Ten percent of productive land
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: here is owned by foreigners.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, we haven't looked at that, if we're honest,
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: and it's one of those things we have to look
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: at the deeper to the rules to make sure that
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: young farmers are still going to be excess to be
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: able to buy their fans. So we need to look
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: at levels. And if I use my own fan for example,
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: you notice I'm very fortunate where I own, and the
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: value of it means it's unlikely that a first fund buy,
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: if I was ever to sell it, was be able
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: to do it, or you know, a lot of keys
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: probably wouldn't able to afford it either. So if we
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: ever wanted to sell, you need to have that option,
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: be able to realize the true value of it. I
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: paid the value of the rates on those and everything
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: that goes along with it. So if we're looking at
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: the true value of the probably need to make sure
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: that the people are available to be able to do that.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I suppose handing it on to the kids
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: not always what it once was. The interest.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: No it's not, No, it's not but we've just done now,
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: you know, a number of years ago. So I've been
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: very fortunate that Mum and Dad pig are values in
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: twenty seventeen, and that meant that we're actually be able
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: to afford We missed that forestry rush, you know, the
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: sugar rush of the cabin Yeah, so much ink. So
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: I'm very fortunate. However, we've got to hangover effect of
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: it and dairy lend, surprise, hasn't maxtually gone up very
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: much in terms of value with sheeven beef farms over
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: the last twelve or sixty years have probably gone off
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: about fifty percent in value what our profitabilities for them.
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: So there's a real disparate balance.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: For you, Toby, thanks for your time. Look forward to
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: seeing the legislation when it's actually drafted. That's Toby Williams
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: Fed Farmers Meet and Wheelchair that the legislation will go
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: out and be done back through Parliament by the end
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: of twenty twenty five. According to David Seymour,