Labour leader David Shearer yesterday (Sunday) released a member's bill that would limit the Government's ability to sign off sales of rural land to overseas buyers.
Under the current rules, two Government ministers can approve OIO decisions after considering several factors and deciding which factors are relevant and to what degree.
Mr Shearer's Overseas Investment (Owning Our Own Rural Land) Amendment Bill would replace the process with a stricter test _ ensuring that if the applicant can not demonstrate benefits through "the creation of a substantial number of additional jobs in New Zealand'' or "a substantial increase in exports from new technology or new products'', then ministers would have to reject it.
The move follows last month's High Court decision, which overturned the ministers' approval for China company Shanghai Pengxin's bid on the Crafar Farms.
The court found the OIO had "materially overstated'' the economic benefits New Zealand would reap from the sale, and that the potential benefits had to be measured against an alternative buyer.
Mr Shearer said the Government had the discretion to turn down farm sales to overseas buyers but it was not being properly exercised.
"Kiwis are overwhelmingly opposed to the sale of prime rural land, like the Crafar farms, to overseas investors,'' he said.
"We cannot afford to lose control of our best income-producing assets and become tenants in our own land.''
However, Mr Key said Labour's proposed law change was "confusing'' and "nakedly political''.
"They don't really mean any of this stuff,'' Mr Key told Newstalk ZB this morning.
"Basically, the current law says you have to create jobs, the current law says you have to invest in the economy, the current law says you have to grow exports and all of those things, so what's new?''
Mr Key said it was also confusing because the High Court's ruling had effectively already created the law Mr Shearer was proposing.
"That is now the law, it's called jurisprudence, so that's exactly what the Overseas Investment Office and the ministers will be working to.''
The bill would have to be drawn from the member's bill ballot before it could even be considered in Parliament, but Mr Shearer has said he would be happy for the Government to take up the bill as its own and progress it quickly.
