Global Challenges, the UN & NZ: A Green Perspective - Dr Kennedy Graham - NZIIA Major Economic & Foreign Policy Issues Seminar

Today's discussion is about the major economic and foreign policy issues facing New Zealand over the next five years, from 2012 to 2017. The theme throughout today has been mainly on the global dimension of that - the global commons and the global economy, with specific focus on trade and security. This final session is on the multilateral setting.

I mention this because clarity in recognizing the conceptual framework for any discussion is a precondition of any consensus in policy analysis and prescription. So let me offer some thought first on the relationship among these dimensions.

The idea of global unity is millennia old in a philosophical sense - from earliest days of human thought through to modern times. The ancient civilizations carried the innocent belief that their value system was divinely ordained, intrinsically valid and universally applicable.

Foreign Ownership - Kennedy Graham Press Release

Dr Kennedy Graham
The Government seems keen to put the 'For Sale' sign up on land that is currently off-limits to foreign investment, said Green Party MP Dr Kennedy Graham.

Finance Minister Bill English this afternoon attacked the rules around foreign investment as too complex for business. Of particular concern to Mr English was the fact that processing a sensitive land application involves the assessment of 27 different criteria and factors.

"There is a reason that rules around overseas investment in sensitive land is complex – we don’t necessarily want overseas investors buying large chunks of pristine New Zealand land and turning them into golf courses or amusement parks – or coal mines" said Green Party’s Foreign Investment Spokesperson Dr Graham.