Australia needs to talk about foreign ownership of rural land: MP

Australia needs to have a deeper debate on how to treat foreign state-owned buyers of farms and rural businesses, New England independent Tony Windsor has told The Australian Financial Review.

“We shouldn’t debate about stopping foreign investment – no one is going to do that – but should foreign governments have freehold ownership over our land?

“It’s something we should debate and look at the distinction between state-owned buyers and others.”

It follows a Coalition proposal to toughen foreign farm ownership rules to bolster food security, although the Nationals leader Warren Truss faced an angry backlash from some Liberal MPs, who warned that tougher regulation could deter investment and deprive farmers of opportunities.

Offshore investment in farmland and agribusiness of more than $20 million would face new scrutiny and be considered in the same “sensitive” category as media and defence.

“Anyone who says they will cut foreign ownership is just playing to an audience,” Windsor said.

“Australia was built on foreign investment and we do need it. But it’s hard when the big investor at the moment is such a key part of our economy.”

Trade Minister Craig Emerson, in the Financial Review in January, bluntly warned farmers that protectionist sentiments and fear of foreign invaders were as damaging to Australia’s long-term interests as industrial protectionism.

Emerson said increased investment, particularly from Asian neighbours, represented an “unsurpassed” opportunity for Australian farmers.

“People are wary of other governments owning our land, and I don’t think we fully comprehend what that means, and it is different from an individual,” Windsor said.

The Foreign Investment Review Board now only scrutinises non-government purchases of agricultural land and businesses below $244 million in value.