Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Before I recommence my comments in relation to the bill before the House: the Minister for Defence has recently made an important contribution in a ministerial statement in relation to Australia's involvement in the Middle East, in particular Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, and I would like to join with him and associate myself with the comments of both the minister and the member for Sydney on behalf of the Nationals. It is good to see such a bipartisan spirit in relation to our commitment to help protect and train foreign forces in a way that is helping to provide some prospect at least of peace and stability in a troubled region of the world. I had the opportunity earlier this year as part of the ADF Parliamentary Program to travel to the Middle East with a contingent of members of parliament. We went to Afghanistan and had the great experience of spending some time with our troops on the ground and seeing the work they are doing working with the Afghan National Army in helping to put them in a position where they can perhaps survive the fighting season and deliver more security for the people of Afghanistan. It was a great pleasure, honour and privilege for the members of parliament who were part of that program. So, I associate myself with the comments made by the minister during his ministerial statement.

In relation to the bill before the House, the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Legislation Amendment Bill: as I was saying before the break, I think it is well recognised that increased investment, both from within Australia and from overseas, will be vital to realising Australia's agriculture's potential for further growth. According to a report three years ago, Greener pastures: the global soft commodity opportunity for Australia and New Zealand, which was commissioned by the ANZ bank, an estimated A$600 billion in new capital is needed through to 2050 to generate higher levels of growth and profitability in Australian agriculture. At the same time, it is essential that suitable checks and balances are in place to ensure that foreign investments are not contrary to our national interest and provide flow-on benefits for farmers, for the communities around them and for the national economy. All foreign investors must pay tax on their business profits made in Australia. Furthermore, the government requires any business operating in Australia, whether locally or foreign owned, to operate in accordance with Australian law, including Australian tax laws.

The coalition government has taken several steps to increase scrutiny and transparency around foreign ownership of agricultural land. This includes developing a foreign ownership register of agricultural land. The coalition is also significantly lowering the monetary threshold for screening of foreign investment proposals related to agricultural land and agribusiness from about $250 million down to $15 million and $53 million, respectively. The previous threshold was actually quite meaningless, because it enabled foreign buyers to purchase large tracts of land below that threshold. It would take a lot of dairy farms and a lot of vegetable flats in the electorate of Gippsland to ever trigger that threshold.

The legislation before the House has widespread support in the community. National Farmers' Federation President Brent Finlay said it would ensure a fact based discussion about who owns what in Australia. He said: 'We know that 99 per cent of Australian farms are owned by Australian families' and 'We need to see who's buying what so that we can have an informed discussion.' National Farmers' Federation Acting Chief Executive Tony Maher said that his organisation welcomed overseas investment but supported the current policy of close scrutiny.

In conclusion, Australians are, rightly, concerned about foreign investment, particularly in relation to agriculture. A poll conducted by the Lowy Institute for International Policy found that in 2013 a majority of Australians still considered that 'the Australian government is allowing too much investment from China', an attitude largely unchanged since 2010. I fear that a lot of that concern is driven by fear rather than by facts. So, I congratulate the minister on bringing this legislation to the House so that we will have the facts before us. People need information. They need information at their fingertips, and that is what this bill seeks to address. It can never be a bad thing to give people more facts to make informed decisions. Foreign investment is and will continue to be vital to the future prosperity of regional Australia. But it is equally important that we have a robust and transparent process to give us a clear picture of which foreign entities are investing on our soil. I commend the bills to the House.

See this speech in context