National Security Interests finally trump free market neoliberalism

As TDB pointed out first, the sudden promotion of the RNZ-TVNZ merger is being considered as a national security issue. With foreign interests able to manipulate social media with ease, the need to have a source of information that its journalistic and trusted is now a national security issue.

This realisation that large corporations operating for regimes that aren’t democratic could buy strategic assets is the sudden reason why new regulations are being finally applied to overseas investment…

Spy agencies sought govt’s foreign new investment ‘call-in’ powers

New Zealand’s spies advised the government to give itself new powers to ‘call in’ applications by foreign investors for military and other national security assets, and privately-owned news media, Associate Finance Minister David Parker says.

Asked by journalists whether intelligence agencies recommended this part of a raft of extensions to foreign investment screening rules covering monopoly and vital infrastructure assets, Parker said: “Yes.”

“The call-in power for dual-use technologies, for example, that was something the security agencies were interested in,” he told a briefing on the government’s latest reforms to the Overseas Investment Act, announced today and including a requirement that monopoly-type assets worth, in most cases, more than $100 million be subject to a national interest test.

The new call-in power for sales to foreign interests of “our most strategically important assets, such as firms developing military technology and direct suppliers to our defence and security agencies” will not be subject to a threshold.

…isn’t it lovely to see the neoliberal free market finally being muzzled because the State fears our strategic assets can be stripped bare.

It’s like cancer developing a conscience.