Bid to buy up southern farms alarms

Southland Times | 19/12/2009

By SAM McKNIGHT - The Southland Times

A proposed buy-up of Southland farms valued at more than $150 million, by a Maori trust bank-rolled by Dubai cash, has Federated Farmers and the Green Party urging caution.

The Rural News reported an Auckland-based "hapu" trust and Dubai state-owned conglomerate Dubai World were negotiating a treaty to buy Southland farms and processing plants in return for a guaranteed 99-year food supply.

Mystery surrounds the makeup of the trust but its Invercargill-based spokesman Wynn Murray told the Rural News he had signed up 28 Southland dairy, deer, sheep and beef farms, covering about 28,000ha.

Mr Murray did not return phone calls from The Southland Times yesterday but told the website he would buy the whole South Island if he could.

Federated Farmers is warning farmers tempted by an offer to ensure due diligence before making any deals.

Its rural security spokesman David Rose said farmers were being offered "exceptional money" for their farms, enough for them to think they had won Lotto.

"I am very concerned with reports of people entering into these agreements without taking deposits," Mr Rose said.

One farmer he had spoken to said the buyers had missed two deadlines for deposits.

"For farmers to protect their investments they should insist a 10 per cent deposit to be paid up front as a sign of good faith," he said.

It went against commercial sense for big-ticket items like farms not to be sold on that basis, he said.

Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said he would also be concerned if New Zealand land were sold to another sovereign state, and many New Zealanders would feel the same way.

New Zealand was a big food exporter but in a world with a food shortage, it made little sense to sell land and the produce coming off it, Mr Norman said.

Mr Rose said Federated Farmers was advising members considering a deal to contact its lawyers to discuss the deals. Non-members should get independent advice.

It was alarming if reports that Dubai World, or one of its subsidiaries, was the trust's financial backer were true, he said.

The federation warned that Dubai World was close to defaulting on a substantial part of its US$60 billion (NZ$82 billion) debt.

On Monday another Emirates state, Abu Dhabi, bailed out Dubai World to the tune of US$10 billion to save it from immediate default.

From the details that were available things did not add up, Mr Rose said.

"And if it appears too good to be true, it probably is."

If you or anyone you know has sold a farm to the trust, please contact The Southland Times at 2111030 or email [email protected]
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