Winston Peters Needs To Walk The Walk On Foreign "Investment" Takeover

The Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) is delighted that Winston Peters has found his long lost speech notes opposing the relentless takeover of New Zealand by transnational corporations.

He says that the country is "enslaved by debt to foreign investors" and that "in the absence of.any meaningful controls over foreign investment, foreign interests have embarked on a systematic takeover of our economy". All true, and he certainly knows how to talk the talk.

Most pertinently, Winston says that he wants to be Treasurer again. Let's all think back to when he actually was Treasurer (1996-98, when New Zealand First was in coalition with National) and remember what he actually did about this problem when he had every opportunity to implement some "meaningful controls". That's right - bugger all (bar a bit of minor tinkering on the sale of rural land to foreigners).

Prior to the 1996 election Winston campaigned up hill and down dale about the evils of foreign investment (CAFCA even hosted him at a Christchurch Town Hall public meeting on the subject). But once he got into power, not a dicky bird. Winston needs to show that he can walk the walk, not just talk the talk. You would never guess that it's coming around to another election year.

But we congratulate him for raising the issue and acknowledging the elephant in the room that neither of the two big parties want to mention - the fact that corporate recolonisation of NZ is a significant factor in many of the current economic problems, ranging from the huge balance of payments deficit to the runaway price of houses.

Foreign "investment" (which is a takeover, rather than investment, nine times out of ten) is not the solution to NZ's problems; rather it is one of the very biggest problems.

ENDS

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