David Cunliffe said that news that Landcorp may pay about $18 million a year to rent the Crafar farms from offshore-owned Pengxin, which is set to buy the farms, would see a publicly-owned New Zealand company renting New Zealand farmland from a foreign conglomerate.
[...]
"It seems, however, that despite John Key's fine words of two years ago, that the Government is content to let the farms fall into foreign hands and then lease them back," David Cunliffe said.
But what makes this story all the more alarming is that the deal might have been facilitated with a hefty bribe. Last Sunday, the NZ Herald reported:
Chinese New Zealand businesses, including one formerly owned by the businessman spearheading Shanghai Pengxin's bid for the Crafar dairy farms, have boosted the National Party's coffers by more than $100,000 in recent days.
So much for Key working in New Zealand's best interest to create a brighter future for all. In my opinion, National's complicity in this land grab is tantamount to treachery!
