Purchase Group welcomes Crafar decision

Group spokesman Alan McDonald says Justice Miller's judgment to set aside the decision of the Ministers to approve the sale was welcomed by the group and confirmed the reasons for their opposition to the Shanghai Pengxin bid.

"Our view was that Shanghai Pengxin's offer brought no real economic benefit to New Zealand and it was not in the best interests of New Zealanders. It is reassuring that a High Court judge has come to a similar conclusion and set aside the Ministers' approval," says Mr McDonald.

Bell Gully Lawyer David Cooper, who represented the Purchase Group, says: "The judgment confirms that the Ministers and the OIO misapplied the Overseas Investment Act and materially overstated the benefits to New Zealand arising from the transaction. The Judge has therefore set aside the decision to grant consent and has required the Ministers to follow the test in the Act."

McDonald said paragraph 57 in Justice Miller's judgement was the one at the heart of the matter for the Purchase Group.

That paragraph states: "The error was not a mere technicality. No one suggested that the farms are likely to remain in their present unsatisfactory state, whoever purchases them. Any solvent purchaser can be expected to bring their production up to its potential. That being so, the economic benefits caused by the overseas investment were materially overstated in the OIO's recommendation."

McDonald said the Purchase Group and its legal team were now taking time to fully consider the details of Justice Miller's decision.