The Government was warned that loaning Westland Milk Products $10 million may set a precedent to other companies that they could turn to the Government when they could not get a loan from the bank. In a briefing to Finance Minister Grant Robertson in September last year, released on the Treasury's website this afternoon, Treasury officials said the decision to loan Westland the money should be deferred. Despite this, two months later Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced that $9.9 million would be allocated to the South Island dairy co-op. "This criterion of 'growth potential' alone would not exclude similar loan requests from other companies seeking to establish themselves on the West Coast." "[The contract] will include conditions that will give the Crown the right to exit the contract in cases of major ownership changes, should that be deemed appropriate.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 28, 2019 03:56 UTC