We don't like it but can we avoid it? Chinese investors have been given approval to purchase the Crafar farms, amid a storm of opposition and there's a real sense of panic about it all.
Winston Peters has dubbed it "economic treason".
New Zealand has always been a target for
foreign investors - be they golf course developers, tourism operators like those who have over the years purchased several resorts and hotels or primary industry investors.
People fear that given the huge food supply needs of China, what's produced on the Crafar farms will go straight there and New Zealanders will see none of it. There's also the possibility of production going overseas which could see Kiwis out of work and our own exporters out of pocket.
None of that would be good. However, as Federated Farmers has pointed out, the Overseas Investment Office (OIO), which has approved the sale to Shanghai Pengxin Group, must be able to conduct its business without fear or favour and without having to take public opinion into account.
