A Reasoned Approach to Overseas Investment

Rock The Vote NZ Party Submission to the Overseas Investment (National Interest Test and Other Matters) Amendment Bill

Submitted on the 23^th of July 2025

Summary

Rock The Vote NZ (RTVNZ) welcomes the opportunity to express support for this Bill, subject to several key considerations. We take a keen interest in this legislation as it concerns one of the State’s foremost responsibilities: protecting New Zealand citizens from external threats. While there is universal agreement that robust screening is necessary to prevent hostile or state-directed actors from acquiring sensitive assets, the real debate lies within the domain of commercial foreign investment.

International investors span a wide spectrum. Many operate as responsible, long-term partners who seek profit while also contributing to national productivity, creating high-paying jobs, and paying their fair share of taxes. Others, however, treat the National Interest Test as an obstacle to circumvent which means prioritising portfolio returns with little regard for the broader social or strategic consequences. It is this latter group, not necessarily malicious, but dangerously complacent that poses the greatest risk to our strategic infrastructure and natural monopolies.

New Zealand has already experienced the consequences of commercially lawful yet strategically harmful decisions. The closure of Marsden Point which was our last remaining domestic oil-refining facility has left us entirely dependent on imported fuels and exposed to global supply shocks. This outcome illustrates how market logic alone can undermine national resilience. Accordingly, RTVNZ believes the amended overseas investment regime must include enforceable and clear metrics to prevent such failures. Commercial interests must never again be allowed to jeopardise New Zealand’s energy, water, telecommunications, or food security.

Rock The Vote NZ Policy Guide

RTVNZ adopts a common-sense approach to public policy. Our guiding philosophy is grounded in the principles of individual sovereignty, personal freedom and the right of every person to pursue happiness. The ultimate outcome being the people can achieve their goals in life with the least amount of government interference necessary to safeguard them from external threats.

Our policy development is driven by first principles thinking which is the discipline of reducing complex issues to their fundamental truths and building solutions from the ground up, based solely on demonstrable evidence. This method ensures that our proposals are rational, coherent, and rooted in reality, rather than just following a generalized ideology.

We believe sound policy is a synthesis of reason and empathy, speaking from both the heart and the mind. We listen actively to the public, distinguish between needs and wants, and work through reasoned analysis to propose what best serves long-term public interest. We maintain that if incumbent parties were to adopt this method of thinking, policy would become more grounded, and trust between the state and its citizens could be renewed.

Through this principled and empathetic framework, RTVNZ aims to deliver submissions that are constructive, impactful, and oriented toward long-term societal benefit. Our goal is not only to influence legislation but to uplift the capacity of the public to navigate life with strength, dignity, and greater opportunity.

This principled foundation forms the basis of our approach to this submission on the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill, guiding our assessment of its implications for sovereignty, national interest, and long-term national resilience.

Sovereignty and Control of our key assets

RTVNZ acknowledges the considerable benefits that responsible overseas investment can bring to New Zealand through the transfer of capital, skills, jobs for our people, and innovation. We live in an increasingly interconnected world where working together across borders is often essential to improving our national resilience and prosperity. Engagement in global investment allows us to cooperate with our allies such as the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom while balancing trade deals with various other countries, ultimately leading to mutually beneficial relationships that support economic development.

Importantly, RTVNZ welcomes the coalition’s decision to retain the prohibition on foreign purchases of existing residential property. New Zealand homes should belong to those that live in New Zealand. This measure provides a clear benchmark for distinguishing between investment that serves the national interest and that which does not. We believe that streamlined processes, such as the updated National Interest Test, can give credible investors greater confidence while maintaining appropriate safeguards.

However, RTVNZ emphasizes that while international trade is desirable, becoming dependent on even our closest friends introduces vulnerabilities and potential risks to our resilience. Dependence creates the risk of coercion or disruption, especially during geopolitical shifts or emergencies. A future administration in a partner country could change its posture overnight, or a regional conflict could jeopardise supply lines which would place New Zealand in an exposed position. We have already seen Donald Trump attempt to play hardball with the “Trump Tariffs” as an example. Resilience requires retaining meaningful control over strategic infrastructure and ensuring that critical assets remain within our sovereign reach.

There is broad agreement across New Zealand society that protecting our key assets from foreign malicious interests is essential. RTVNZ affirms this consensus and supports the continuation of the National Interest Test to defend against foreign state interference. However the debate continues with the strategic impact of commercial international investment, particularly where investment decisions are governed solely by modern commercial metrics that prioritise shareholder returns without regard to national consequences.

Marsden Point Case Study – A Strategic Failure in National Resilience

The closure of Marsden Point Oil Refinery in 2022 represents a profound failure in national infrastructure policy. Once responsible for refining the majority of New Zealand’s fuel supply, it was downgraded to an import-only terminal by its private operator, Channel Infrastructure (formerly Refining NZ). This decision, although commercially justified from a shareholder perspective, left New Zealand wholly dependent on foreign-refined fuel with no domestic fallback.

The Government did not intervene, and no legal mechanism existed to assess or prevent the closure on the grounds of national interest or resilience. The absence of a statutory test to balance commercial logic with sovereign capacity enabled the closure to proceed unchecked. As a result, New Zealand is now significantly more vulnerable to international supply shocks, geopolitical instability, and natural disasters that could disrupt fuel imports.

Other nations, such as Australia, took proactive steps to subsidise and preserve minimal refining capacity in recognition of its strategic importance. For example, in 2021, the Australian Government introduced the Fuel Security Services Payment which was a production subsidy to support the continued operation of its two remaining refineries until at least 2027, recognising the importance of fuel resilience for national security and emergency preparedness. New Zealand, by contrast, now lacks any sovereign fuel processing ability, placing our economy, emergency services, and defence capabilities at greater risk.

Marsden Point stands as a cautionary example of what happens when critical infrastructure is governed solely by profit motives without regard for long-term national resilience. It demonstrates the urgent need for a robust and enforceable National Interest Test that includes resilience considerations for essential assets.

Natural Monopolies and Strategic Infrastructure

RTVNZ supports free markets as the most effective mechanism for driving innovation, efficiency, and prosperity across most sectors of the economy. However, we acknowledge that natural monopolies such as power distribution networks, water systems, telecommunications infrastructure, and fuel supply chains require a different approach.

A natural monopoly arises where the cost of entry is so high, and the infrastructure so centralised, that meaningful competition becomes impractical or inefficient. In such environments, private actors are incentivised to maximise returns without the checks and balances that normally arise through competition. This creates a risk of underinvestment, rent-seeking, or decisions being made purely on commercial grounds, regardless of national consequences.

For this reason, RTVNZ believes that natural monopolies must remain subject to strong public oversight, and in some cases, direct government control. Strategic infrastructure is not just an economic asset for our nation, it is the backbone of national security, civil continuity and long-term resilience. While private investment can play a role, the Government must have the tools to intervene where necessary to protect the public interest.

Reciprocity and Strategic Investment Access

RTVNZ proposes that the National Interest Test should include a consideration of reciprocity: whether the home country of the investor allows equivalent investment access to its own strategic assets. For example, if a New Zealand company or citizen would be prohibited from acquiring similar infrastructure in another country, then it is reasonable for New Zealand to adopt the same posture toward investors from that country.

This is not a matter of antagonism, rather it is a matter of sovereign equality. If another nation, through its government and legal frameworks, has made a democratic or strategic decision to restrict foreign access to certain assets, then those same principles should be reflected in how we treat incoming investment from that country.

Reciprocity ensures that open societies are not systematically disadvantaged in global capital flows. It also affirms the principle that investment is a privilege, not an entitlement. Countries that seek to benefit from access to New Zealand's strategic assets should be willing to offer the same openness in return.

In an interconnected world, mutual access must be based on mutual respect. The National Interest Test should be empowered to take this into account.

Recommendations

RTVNZ recommends that the select committee:

• Consider including National Resilience in the National Interest Test, particularly in sectors such as energy, water, telecommunications, and food security, as a statutory factor.

• Formally acknowledge the Marsden Point Refinery closure as a strategic infrastructure failure and use it as a precedent for refining the National Interest Test.

• Introduce a Reciprocity Clause so that if New Zealanders cannot invest in equivalent strategic assets abroad, such restrictions should be reciprocated.

• Ensure Ministerial Oversight is retained for transactions involving natural monopolies or critical infrastructure, beyond just traditional national security concerns.

• Develop sector-specific guidelines and red flags to guide decision-making in high-risk industries, including data infrastructure, water bottling, and energy networks.

• Reinstate or maintain protections for public access, cultural heritage, and environmental values where land is involved, especially in cases falling outside farmland or residential classifications.

• Strengthen the resourcing and enforcement capabilities of the Overseas Investment Office to monitor compliance and uphold consent conditions effectively.

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