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Source: ONE News -
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Fears that China is gobbling up New Zealand land are misplaced, official figures show.
Americans, Canadians and even Liechtensteinians are buying far more land.
Figures released by the Overseas Investment Office show that of the 872,313 hectares of gross land sold to foreign interests over the past five years, only 223ha were sold to Chinese.
People from the landlocked principality of Liechtenstein had purchased 10 times more land than the Chinese - 2,144ha in the same period.
The top buyers were the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Israel. The United States had 194 purchases for a total of 193,208ha.
The figures do not show if there are any New Zealand ownership shares involved.
The sale of land to foreign investors has been in the spotlight recently with the OIO approving the purchase of 16 Crafar farms by Chinese owners.
The farms have a combined area of about 7,900ha. The Crafar Farms Purchase Group, led by Sir Michael Fay, is challenging the sale in a judicial review at the High Court in Wellington.
The sale has been attacked by the Government's opposition with Labour leader David Shearer saying he opposed the sale of profitable New Zealand-owned assets to foreign interests. The farms were placed in receivership in October.
Last week it was revealed that Canadian director James Cameron had also bought more than 1000 hectares of South Wairarapa for $20 million.
In 2004, Shania Twain and her then husband, record producer Robert John ''Mutt'' Lange, bought 33-year leases for two Otago stations, acquiring 25,000ha of scenic high-country land for about $21 million.
The couple gifted a 29km easement of track across Motatapu, and huts, to New Zealand's 2100km Te Araroa walking trail. They split in 2008 and it is unknown how the ownership of their New Zealand property was divided.
US billionaire Julian Robertson owns a 2000ha property at Cape Kidnappers, where he has spent about $90 million. He also owns the Kauri Cliffs golf course in Northland.
Over the past two years, 357,056 ha of agricultural land has been approved for sale to foreigners with the United States, Britain, Switzerland and Germany purchasing the most.
Race relations commissioner Joris de Bres said people had to be careful not to let ethnic prejudice come into consideration over decisions around allowing foreigners to buy land.
''You can't help but think that there is an element in the opposition that has been about that [racism]. Are people opposed to foreigners buying farms or are they opposed to Chinese buying farms and if it is the latter then they need to have a think about that.''
Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson has called the negative reaction to the Crafar farms xenophobic and racist.
Williamson said that when Canadians, Americans, Germans and Swiss bought farmland there had not been a ''mutter or a murmur''.
''As soon as the word Chinese was mentioned, we are opposed to it. I have to say that is bordering more on racism than xenophobia.''
While other nationalities are behind a vast accumulation of land, a report published last year by Asia New Zealand revealed the main issue relating to negative attitudes towards Asia centred on the acquisition of the Crafar dairy farms.
''[I] heard about the purchase of Crafar farms. I'm concerned that if they buy it the produce will go back to China and they'll employ their own people and not New Zealand people on their farms,'' said one respondent to the Perceptions of Asia report.
The report found that the proportion of Kiwis feeling that immigration from Asia would have a ''positive impact in the next 10 to 20 years'' fell below 50 per cent for the first time since the annual survey began in 2007, dropping from 55 per cent in 2009 to 49 per cent.
While a quarter of New Zealanders had a positive reaction to business and economic issues in Asia, such as Free Trade Agreements, the Crafar deal had a more negative response.
''We do tend to see people are more positive about the economic growth and less positive about the stuff that happens here,'' said Asia NZ research director Andrew Butcher.
''The immediate stuff in our neighbourhood I think that requires a wee bit more work and a wee bit more adjustment.''
He said the ''big picture'' of how New Zealand viewed Asia was still more positive with 77 per cent of Kiwis thinking Asia was important to New Zealand's future.
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