The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Mike Hosking: There's no downside to Matt Lauer deal

NZ Herald
25 Jul, 2018 06:47 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking looks at furore around public access to the Hunter Valley Station owned by Matt Lauer

COMMENT:

I was impressed with Mark Mitchell's defence yesterday of the work to approve Matt Lauer's purchase of a high country station.

It appears to be a story driven by a couple of things. One, the overriding envy that frequents the minds of too many of us when it comes to foreign investment. We think foreigners are bad, their money is bad, their intentions are bad, and they bring nothing but trouble. And this is our land and we are being robbed of it.

Despite, of course, the fact that in this case Lauer is merely a lessee.

And two, Lauer is a high-profile target, and has become an even bigger and easier target, due to the fact he appears to be some sort of creep in the workplace.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But surely if we pause long enough, we can accept that at least in part foreign money is vital to our economy, and the rules that operate in these sort of land deals add value to our country and the land itself.

In this case it was a farm in trouble, it was losing money, it needed investment.

The rules that apply mean you have to add value, the country has to gain in a tangible and demonstrable way as a result of the deal.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

All of that has happened.

And here is one of the ironies. Under local management we got no access; under foreigner management we do.

And now, having got that, as is so often the case with lobby groups, instead of accepting the gains they've achieved, they try it on again and suddenly its unfettered access by car they want.

It's not a free for all. They are taking the mickey, but they get traction and headlines because, once again, we let our xenophobia get the better of us and its makes for easy news and finger pointing.

Discover more

OIO approves high-country station sale

31 Jul 09:30 PM

And as Mark Mitchell also pointed out, the farm was put onto the market, for all and sundry to have a crack at.

Did we take up the opportunity locally? No, we did not.

We could just have easily done what Matt Lauer did, but we chose not to.

And yet having passed on the chance, we then start the campaign of whinging.

And if you were the couple running that farm, looking to get off the land after a lifetime of work, what is your property worth if the only people you can sell it to are us, and not a single one of us are interested?

It's worth nothing. And what is the point in that?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

So we have an improved property. We have investment made on the land, we have access we never had, we have a transaction that would not have taken place.

It's win-win all round. There is no downside to the deal.

So why can't we see the good news when it's staring us in the face?

And celebrate it instead of looking for more trouble?

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

'Rusty but running': 1940s bulldozer still going strong

20 Jun 05:00 PM
The Country

One dead, three injured in Central Otago ATV accident

20 Jun 02:29 AM
The Country

Tonnes of promise: Angus Bull Week set to make millions

20 Jun 12:00 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

'Rusty but running': 1940s bulldozer still going strong

'Rusty but running': 1940s bulldozer still going strong

20 Jun 05:00 PM

Robin Hill retired at 58 and began collecting tractors, including a 1940s Fowler VF.

 One dead, three injured in Central Otago ATV accident

One dead, three injured in Central Otago ATV accident

20 Jun 02:29 AM
Tonnes of promise: Angus Bull Week set to make millions

Tonnes of promise: Angus Bull Week set to make millions

20 Jun 12:00 AM
Premium
50 years on the ice: How an Olympic gold medal kickstarted a couple's business

50 years on the ice: How an Olympic gold medal kickstarted a couple's business

19 Jun 11:00 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP