April 10, 2013
Greens cautious on delegations trip to China
Greens Co-leader Metiria Turei says Māori need to be careful they don't sell themselves short in their forays into China.
Several Māori business and iwi leaders are in China as part of a trade delegation led by Prime Minister John Key and Māori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples.
They have been discussing investment and joint ventures in farming, fishing, forestry and tourism.
Ms Turei says they need to identify carefully where the value lies, and not get swept up by Mr Key's open door approach to foreign investment anywhere in the value chain.
“If we have an investment in forestry for example and we are legally part of a whole process that makes the products that is sold overseas. We shouldn’t be allowing foreign ownership of those means of production if it takes the control out of our hands and leaves our people barest of these economic opportunities,” she says.
Metiria Turei says John Key is using Māori as a selling point for his plan to attract foreign investment, but his approach could undermine Māori ability to control their own economic development.
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