KEY POINTS:
Political pressure is already being applied to the Government to halt the proposed takeover of Auckland International Airport by a Dubai company.
The deal, through which Dubai Aerospace Enterprise would acquire 51 to 60 per cent of the airport business, will need the approval of the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) before it can be completed.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said yesterday that he would "press hard" all the way to the OIO to get the deal stopped.
"I want to know why on Earth we are selling a key strategic asset, the airport that's critical to our biggest city and will become of greater importance in the future, into foreign ownership," Mr Peters said.
"There is no soundness in this transaction whatsoever."
Mr Peters is a vociferous opponent of foreign ownership of New Zealand assets, and airports in particular are dear to his heart.
The Government's sale of Wellington Airport prompted him to quit the coalition Government his party forged with National in 1996.
The seller of Auckland Airport is not the Government this time around, but the Beehive could have some role to play in the potential deal.
The Finance Minister can become involved in Overseas Investment Act approvals.
Criteria for such approvals include that the buyer must have relevant business experience and acumen, must have demonstrated financial commitment to the investment and must be of good character.
Finance Minister Michael Cullen yesterday said he was handing over his decision-making responsibilities to Associate Finance Minister Trevor Mallard, because as the Air New Zealand shareholding minister Dr Cullen had an obvious conflict of interest.
Mr Peters argued it was "economic idiocy" to have the airport go into Dubai hands, and pointed to the country's yawning balance-of-payments deficit as evidence of what happened when assets were owned by foreign interests.
"This is not overseas investment, this is an overseas takeover," he said.
Greens co-leader Russel Norman warned of the risk of "monopoly rents" being charged by the airport, which he described as the "single most important asset in the tourist industry".
"It is a faint hope to think that the Overseas Investment Office would take these issues into account but if it was doing its job it would be very suspicious of the buyout," he said.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said she expected the deal would be debated around Auckland's local body elections.
