Capital Markets: Foreign investment requires adequate public safeguards

NZ Herald

13-05-2025

For Labour, our measure of success isn't solely about the amount of money we attract from overseas. It is about our people and whether we have jobs that pay enough to cover life's essentials, quality healthcare and a warm place to call home.
When foreign investment is rushed or lacks adequate safeguards, it can undermine our jobs, health, homes and our long-held Kiwi values.
Labour welcomes foreign investment that align with our national interest, delivers what New Zealand needs while saving taxpayers' money, and honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
But we draw a firm line when it comes to essential public services.
Labour does not support the private ownership or operation of our public schools, hospitals or prisons. These are not just line items on a balance sheet, they're pillars of our communities and must remain in public hands. We do not want to be tenants in our own hospitals and we certainly don't want another privately-run prison debacle.
We are worried about National's rushed attempts to reform the Overseas Investment Act, which, if not done properly, could put our economic future at risk. Making it easier for foreign companies to buy up key assets while shifting profits offshore doesn't strengthen our economy, it weakens it.
However, we are committed to continuity, because people are rightly sick of the changes and cancellations that happen when a Government is voted out. The Interislander ferries are a fantastic example of a botched cancellation. Construction workers are losing their jobs and leaving the country in droves as the National Party stops Government builds like hospitals, schools and housing projects as they make their mind up about whether they see these projects as important enough to fund.
New Zealand recently sank into the sharpest recession in 30 years, excluding Covid. We lost 33,000 jobs, 13,000 construction jobs are gone and thousands of New Zealanders have left for Australia.
So we have made it clear that Labour will not spend our first year back in Government pausing, cancelling and reviewing every project.
Labour won't repeat National's mistakes. No more games. No more broken promises.
No more throwing the baby out with the bathwater just to make a political point. If a project is contracted and under way, or if there would be significant costs to changing directions, then we'll keep it going – even if it's not how we would have gone about it.
I've heard loud and clear from the construction sector that more job losses could follow if they don't have greater certainty. They need confidence that a change of Government won't mean the end of a project that's under way, because New Zealand can't afford more job losses, as we are seeing under National.
Labour will be pragmatic.
Ultimately, foreign investment is about getting the balance right. We need overseas investment to help us build infrastructure, create good jobs and help grow our economy. But investing in New Zealand is a privilege, not a right.
And it must never come at the cost of public control over essential public services, like schools, hospitals or prisons. That's what smart investment looks like – and that's what Labour will deliver.