Labor’s foreign ownership register ‘half-baked’
23rd October, 2012
IN a scramble to catch-up to the Coalition’s policy reforms on foreign purchases of agricultural land and agribusinesses, the Prime Minister has finally announced a foreign ownership register.Her announcement is a long way short of what is necessary to convince anyone that the government has got the message that Australians have real concerns about the growing level of foreign ownership of agricultural land and agribusiness.
“This is Labor’s third attempt to catch up on a land register and looks like a desperate bid to be seen to be doing something for the Prime Minister’s audience today at the National Farmers’ Federation National Congress,” Leader of The Nationals Warren Truss said.
“First Labor defended their inaction by claiming foreign ownership levels have not changed for 30 years, then they promised an ABS survey in 2018 – now at last they admit we need a national register.
“Like border protection where Labor pursues failing half-measures, a register of agricultural land ownership sometime in the future is only part of what needs to be done.
“The Coalition welcomes the important contribution genuine overseas investment has made and will continue to make to Australian agriculture, adding capital growth, innovation and the development of new agricultural regions.
“Nevetheless, the public expects governments to be vigilant in ensuring Australia’s national interests are paramount and the Coalition has led the debate with the release of its foreign ownership policy paper earlier this year.
“For starters, a national register of all foreign acquisitions – both land and agribusinesses – needs to be established so that Australians have access to accurate information on what land and agribusiness is owned by foreign interests.
“It seems the Gillard government is oblivious to the avalanche of takeovers of major Australian agribusinesses, making no reference to agribusiness in today’s announcement.
“It’s a bizarre oversight when Australia’s largest listed agribusiness, GrainCorp, is currently under a takeover offer from US food processing giant Archer Daniels Midland. The result of this purchase would see almost total foreign ownership and control over eastern state grain export facilities.
“The Prime Minister repeated the myth today that the amount of farmland in foreign hands in Australia has only risen by 0.1% over the past 30 years. That’s despite Queensland, the only state with a register of foreign land ownership, showing land owned by foreign interests tripled to 4.45 million hectares between 2008-10.
“A well-constructed register will put those issues to bed.
“But without lowering the threshold for Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) assessment of proposed farm and agribusiness purchases, a land register is a token gesture.
“For farm purchases the Coalition wants the trigger for scrutiny reduced from the current $244 million threshold to $15 million. Importantly, we propose to also capture creeping acquisitions so that those buying multiple farms that add up to $15 million would be subjected to FIRB scrutiny.
“For agribusiness the trigger would apply where the investment represents 15% in an agribusiness valued at $244 million, or exceeds $53 million, whichever is the smaller sum. This recognises the key role agribusinesses can assume in farm profitability through market dominance and price and supply settings.
“By lowering these thresholds we can be sure that the national interest test is applied to purchases that currently go through to the keeper. Labor still has no plans to change these arrangements.
“We are also proposing to extend the FIRB skills-set to include agricultural expertise, increasing its size from four to seven members. This would ensure the Board can make informed decisions about farm and agribusiness acquisitions in the national interest.
“Without the Coalition’s full suite of reforms a land register is just window dressing.”
[ENDS]
