Phil Twyford
Housing Spokesperson

12 November 2015

Foreign buyers ban will achieve what Govt failed to

Labour’s Member’s Bill to ban foreign buyers from purchasing existing homes will achieve what the Government failed to in its Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations, Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford says.

“The Government should adopt the Overseas Investment (Protection of New Zealand Homebuyers) Amendment Bill and get New Zealand the carve out Australia secured through its negotiations.

“The sovereignty of the New Zealand Parliament should never have been traded away and this Bill is a case in point.

“Opinion polls show New Zealanders overwhelmingly want non-resident investors stopped from buying homes here.

“Labour isn’t against foreign investors but inviting overseas speculators to trade in Kiwi homes for capital gain is entirely non-productive. It produces no jobs or exports, and pushes up house prices beyond the reach of first homebuyers.

“In the past year in Australia, a similar policy as resulted in $30 billion worth of overseas money building new homes there. My Bill will result in foreign investors channelling their capital into the building of new houses in New Zealand,” Phil Twyford says.

ENDS

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