1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:01,840 Speaker 1: So the government going to be more welcoming to foreign 2 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: investment by amending the Overseas Investment Act. Unless it's residential, 3 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: farmland or fish quota, we will one look to say 4 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:10,639 Speaker 1: yes to do it within fifteen days. The Associate Finance Minister, 5 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: David Seymore's with us, good morning, Good well anyway, how 6 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: come this has taken so long? 7 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:19,920 Speaker 2: Well, we've gone through a process of basically speeding up 8 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:22,479 Speaker 2: everything we can within the current law. So when I 9 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 2: got this job started last year, I issued a new 10 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 2: letter to the OO saying, look, you've got to do 11 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 2: it in half your seventy day timeframe. They're now doing 12 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:34,559 Speaker 2: that ninety six percent of the time. Meanwhile, we've been 13 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,559 Speaker 2: going through cabinet getting everyone signed up and agreed on 14 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 2: changes to the law itself. That's now agreed and we're 15 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 2: going to put it through Parliament this year. So that's 16 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 2: a two year process over all. Over All the way 17 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 2: that we do overseas investment. I know it'd be great 18 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 2: if we could be like Malay or maybe Trump and 19 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:00,040 Speaker 2: just announce it and make it so. But as the 20 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 2: reality of a coalition government and a parliamentary. 21 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: Democracy, how much money actually comes in. That's not residential 22 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:07,040 Speaker 1: or farm or fishing. 23 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,959 Speaker 2: It's in the billions for sure. It goes through businesses 24 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 2: rather than necessarily land fishing quotas a relatively minor thing. 25 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 2: There's only so much of it. But what's important is 26 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:24,679 Speaker 2: that relative to other countries, we're twenty six out of 27 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 2: thirty four OECD countries monitored. And that sounds okay, we're 28 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:32,400 Speaker 2: still eight people worse. It is probably not because the US, 29 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:36,080 Speaker 2: for example. Well, I mean, you know it could be worse. 30 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 2: But one thing you've got to recognize is that if 31 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 2: the US you've got a huge internal market. You know, 32 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 2: even Australia has a lot more capital inside its borders. 33 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 2: So we can't afford to be in the bottom half. 34 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:48,200 Speaker 2: We've got to be in the top ten. 35 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: Couldn't agree more? Could it be? Though? Like tourism, Yes 36 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: we're open, but people decide not to come and we 37 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: know where near where we should be. 38 00:01:57,080 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 2: Well, I totally agree. There's a bunch of other things 39 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 2: we've got to do. For example, when it can take 40 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,280 Speaker 2: twenty eight years to get a rem a consent for 41 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 2: one supermarket, that's going to be a big barrier to say, 42 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 2: getting another supermarket competitor in and getting prices down. But 43 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 2: the government is also replacing the Resource Management Act with 44 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 2: a law based on property rights. We're also fixing up 45 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 2: for a lot of work around labor laws to make 46 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 2: it easier to actually employ people. So the government is 47 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 2: doing across the board a bunch of stuff that will 48 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 2: make it easier to do business in this country. The 49 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:31,359 Speaker 2: part that I'm responsible for, at least we're talking about today, 50 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 2: is the regulations about getting foreign investment in and basically 51 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 2: we're going to say, look, as long as there's no farmland, 52 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:45,639 Speaker 2: fishing quota or residential housing, then it's an overfrastructure or 53 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:47,919 Speaker 2: business or whatever, then we're going to do it within 54 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:48,960 Speaker 2: fifteen days. 55 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: Fantastic, good to talk to you appreciate it very much. 56 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: David seem More, the Associate Finance Minister. 57 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 2: For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, Listen live to 58 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 2: news talks that'd be from six am weekdays, or follow 59 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:01,000 Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.