Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) spokesman, Murray Horton, says history suggests AIP visa holders are unlikely to transform New Zealand’s economy.
“We have heard all this before,” he says. “Two words: Kim Dotcom …. people of his ilk were touted as being the equivalent salvation back then.
“Peter Thiel – what has he contributed to the New Zealand economy? We’ve never seen him since. He’s too busy rallying the tech bro billionaires to back Donald Trump.”
However, allowing immigrant investors to buy houses is “peanuts” compared to the influence of foreigners owning land and important assets like forestry, Wellington’s failing sewerage plant, and Heinz Wattie’s three closing factories, Horton says.
“This is where the real foreign control of New Zealand is – in business, in manufacturing… there are much bigger fish to fry than somebody looking for a $5 million house.”
Horton’s statement was published as part of an article in The Post on 15 March 2026. See: https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/360965534/golden-visa-holders-go-house-hunting.