Te Arai foreign buyer exemption claims 'outrageous' - Parker

Red flags have been raised over an attempt to exempt a US billionaire from the ban on foreigners buying houses. The government wanted a special clause exempting Ric Kayne's luxury development in Te Arai, north of Auckland put into the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill. The exemption has since been dropped due to a technicality. But questions are now being asked about the relationship between David Parker - the Minister overseeing the OIA - and another businessman involved in the Te Arai development. Mr Parker tells Guyon Espiner it's an "outrageous allegation" that the exemption was related to a friendship with John Darby. "It was intended to be for the benefit of the local iwi... I'm not a friend of [Darby]," he says.