The debate on foreign ownership of farmland has so far ignored the issue of what was best for the land, a University of Otago academic said yesterday.
Henrik Moller, of the Centre for the Study of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Csafe), said international research was unanimous in its finding that owners who lived locally were the best stewards of land because they wanted their grandchildren and the community to inherit it in as good or an even better state than it was when they took it over.
Prof Moller said he had no prejudice against foreigners, but the debate so far had not addressed what he felt was the most important issue: what was best for the land, and in the long term what was sustainable.
The debate over foreign ownership of farmland gained fresh legs at the weekend's Labour Party conference, with leader Phil Goff reversing previous party policy by announcing a future Labour government would make it harder for foreigners to buy large areas of farmland.
In its most recent nine years in power, Labour approved the sale of 650,000ha to foreigners investors.
The current National Government has approved the sale of 31,000ha in 20 months.
Prof Moller said foreign investors tended to use land to generate profits which were repatriated offshore, while those who lived in the community tended to have a longer-term vision of land sustainability.
Real Estate Institute of New Zealand spokesman Bryan Thomson said a lack of policy detail made it difficult to determine the impact of a change in foreign ownership rules.
While foreign investors had been active, that tended to only be when several factors came in to play, such as the state of the world economy and the exchange rate.
When the value of the New Zealand dollar was low, it tended to increase interest, Mr Thomson said.
"Foreign investors for some types of properties and at some points in the economic cycle can have an impact," he said.
One example was the 2004 purchase by Canadian singer Shania Twain for $21 million of Motatapu and Mt Soho Stations near Wanaka, but the Government had also paid above market prices for land in the South Island high country.
In 2004, it paid $10 million for Birchwood Station which was added to the conservation estate.
Meanwhile, Federated Farmers president Don Nicolson said he too was looking forward to seeing policy detail, but said property rights were sacrosanct.
The country must be careful that curbing the sale of farms did not mean an end to other forms of foreign investment.
"Things are not black and white. It's incredibly complex so the last thing we need is for it to be interpreted overseas as a possible political veto on foreign investment."
Mr Nicolson said New Zealanders in 2009 were the sixth largest source of foreign investment in Queensland, buying 2669 parcels of land worth $75 million.
"I think if the shoe was on the other foot, you'd have many people crying foul."
