The Member for Wannon Dan Tehan has welcomed today’s announcement that the Senate Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee will conduct an inquiry into how the Foreign Investment Review Board’s “National Interest Test” is applied to the purchase of Australian agricultural land and agribusinesses.
In April Mr Tehan called for a Senate Inquiry into the sale of 252,000 hectares of the Great Southern Plantations’ land to an overseas-based funds manager after it was revealed the Gillard Government had failed to respond to requests from the National Farmers Federation for consideration to be given to selling the land in existing allotments so that local farmers would have a chance to compete for the asset.
“Subsequent sales of land in Victoria and NSW to foreign state owned enterprises doubled my resolve to see a Senate Inquiry take place,” Mr Tehan said.
Mr Tehan gained Coalition Party room support for the inquiry yesterday and the Greens have confirmed they will support the motion in the Senate today.
“My worry is that the Gillard Government has been asleep at the wheel when it comes to ensuring that overseas purchases of Australia’s agricultural assets are in the National Interest.”
Specific restrictions on foreign investment are in force in so called “sensitive sectors” such as residential real estate, banking, telecommunications and the media.
“The question needs to be asked: why is residential real estate seen as sensitive, yet the family farm isn’t?”
The inquiry will examine the role of foreign sovereign funds in acquiring Australian sovereign assets.
“We need to examine closely whether the purchase by Foreign Government controlled sovereign wealth funds is in Australia’s long term interests especially when it could lead to control from the paddock to the plate in the country making the investment” Mr Tehan said.
The Senate Inquiry will be run in conjunction with the Coalition Working Group that has been established to investigate options to strengthen the rules governing the sale of Australian agricultural land and agribusiness to foreign entities.
“I am sure it will help inform the policy the Coalition takes to the next election in this area,” Mr Tehan said.
Foreign investment remains crucial to Australia’s economic future and it is vital the community has continuing confidence that it is in our National Interest. In the Foreign Investment Review Board’s own words, “the Government determines what is ‘contrary to the national interest’ by having regard to community concerns.”
When it comes to Australian agriculture the current feeling sadly is that the Gillard Government has no regard to community concern in regional and rural Australia.
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