Watchdog no. 171 (May 2026)
We should by now have become inured to the selfishness and shortsightedness of those who would gladly sell off chunks of New Zealand to overseas buyers. But their weaknesses are only a part of the story. The real story is one which is best described as “anything for a quick buck” or “what can we sell next?”. Whether it involves Shane Jones’ “fast track process” or putting something else on the chopping block, the real story requires us to find something else to sell, and taking our chances when they come along. The most recent chapter in this saga requires us to see the monetary value of something that we have not hitherto realised is something that can be sold in the international marketplace at a fat profit - and that something is New Zealand citizenship.
The most obvious market for this dubious trade is rich Americans. A “bolt hole” in Aotearoa has obvious attractions to a particular type of American - and if we wanted to imagine the type of American who would fit this bill, we could do no worse than imagine Peter Thiel - and, hey presto, it turns out that Thiel is exactly the type of person who fills the bill. There are, it turns out, more than one way to sell us short - and those who are constantly looking for new opportunities for doing so are not short of opportunities.
Watchdog 171 -- May 2026
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