Former lands minister and Dunedin list MP David Parker made his comment during recent debate on the Crown Pastoral Land (Rent for Pastoral Leases) Amendment Bill being sent to the Primary Production Committee, saying the changes would give lessees a rent discount regardless of their ability to pay.
"Every one of these farmers is a millionaire," he said during the debate.
The Bill amends the Crown Pastoral Land Act so lessees will be charged rent on the basis of the earning capacity of a property, after the previous Labour Government proposed basing rents on amenity values such as scenic views and proximity to lakes and mountains.
This would have increased rents by 600% to 1400%, in some cases exceeding farm income.
Farmers successfully took a case to the Rent Review Tribunal, which found that they could not be charged for amenities.
"It is quite clear that those properties do not earn a lot of money just because the sheep can get a lovely view of a lake or mountain," Lands Minister Maurice Williamson said when introducing the Bill.
Rents will be set by determining the carrying capacity of a lease, then applying a dollar value using "objective information" about current economics of high country farming, he said.
Production will then be assessed and the Crown will collect rent on the base production plus 15% of any production increase.
"In other words, somebody who is farming the land really well and gets a substantial increase across the base carrying capacity, can extract 85% of the gain for themselves, with the Crown taking 15%."
If a property is sold for a premium price, the Crown, as landlord, will also receive a share.
Previously, rent was calculated on its value exclusive of improvements, which are owned by the lessee, and rent charged at 2%.
Farmers have said the proposed rent setting mechanism will also result in a substantial increase in rent, but that it was fair and not influenced by above-market prices.
Mr Parker claimed high country farmers had won and warned a precedent had been set that "lessees ought not to forget".
"What goes around comes around, and this is a licence for a future Government to go in, fix up these things and change the terms of the lease."
Agriculture Minister David Carter saw this as a threat to farmers, saying Mr Parker was "full of jealousy and spite", and that he saw farmers as rich millionaires and he planned to "deal to them".
Mr Carter said farmers did a better job of protecting the high country than a "Wellington-based Government department".
He said farmers need security and the ability to invest in weed and pest control and care for the land, while the new policy brought to an end an unsettling period.
