It's rather fitting that in accordance with the Libertarianz' latest video, 'Ban It', that the Greens are pushing for ever more activities to be banned; the latest one is a ban on foreigners from buying property.

Greens co-leader Russel (with one 'l') Norman asks, "why should we allow Singaporean, Australian or American speculators to buy investment properties in our country, shutting first-time home buyers from the market?"

Why? Because their investment in New Zealand:

A) creates jobs in the local building industry, and in turns creates jobs in other areas such as forestry, mining etc, with the added competition driving up wage rates -meaning that buying homes becomes easier for people in those industries. And wouldn't it be more environmentally sustainable to use the resources in house construction here in New Zealand than shipping them overseas?

B) helps to make New Zealand a cleaner country. Wealthy foreigners buy into New Zealand based on its "clean, green" image, and unspoiled rural environment. Property rights give an incentive to keep it that way. If foreigners weren't allowed to buy property in New Zealand the demand for pristine areas would fall, and areas otherwise owned by foreigners would either not be owned at all, or by some not-so-wealthy New Zealander who probably wouldn't have the time or money to keep his property sparkling clean (and who wouldn't be as appreciative of the land as well). Either way, the incentive to keep land in a pristine condition grows smaller.

C) makes New Zealand more well known on the world stage. Without millions of taxpayer dollars going to some rich advertising agency to market the country as a tourist destination overseas, New Zealand will become known as a good holiday destination, with scenery not found anywhere else. This gives a boost to the tourist industry, which in turns provides more jobs for NZ citizens.

There you go, Norman. Three good reasons why, like all bans on voluntary human activity, a ban on foreigners buying property in New Zealand is not a good idea.

Not that the Greens understand the idea of "voluntary human activity".

Article: http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/4958466