Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Science) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Legislation Amendment Bill 2015, the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Bill 2015 and the Register of Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land Bill 2015. I am very pleased to speak in support of this package of legislation. Upon our election just over two years ago the government declared that Australia was 'open for business'. Since then, we have set about ensuring that we are indeed a nation that encourages innovation, investment and growth.

Foreign investment has been an important source of economic growth over many years. It helps create jobs, boosts our competitiveness in global markets and provides infrastructure and greater consumer choice. That is why it is crucial that our foreign investment regulatory system is simple, transparent and in the national interest. It should also be enforceable to ensure compliance. This package of measures delivers certainty and clarity to the foreign investment framework—and that is really what investors are after. Each nation is entitled to set and enforce foreign investment rules. What makes this package a plus for foreign investors is that it will ensure we have a predictable and robust system that welcomes investors and clearly sets out their obligations. I think most Australians would be surprised to know that our foreign investment rules have not been significantly revised since they were first introduced in 1975. The world has certainly changed a great deal in the past 40 years, particularly in the way we access and retain information.

The coalition promised before the 2013 election that we would lower the screening thresholds for foreign investment in agricultural land and agribusiness and create a register of foreign ownership of agricultural land. We deliver on that promise with this package of bills. As announced in February this year, from 1 March 2015, foreign investors must obtain prior approval for a proposed acquisition of an interest in rural land where the cumulative value of the rural land owned by the foreign investor, including the proposed purchase, is $15 million or more. This is a significant reduction from the previous threshold, which was $252 million.

The government is also establishing a foreign ownership register that will start collecting information on existing foreign ownership and subsequent transactions of all interests in agricultural land from 1 July 2015. The government will work with the states and territories so that the register will ultimately use land title transfer information from existing state and territory land title collection processes. This will remove duplicative registration processes for property owners.

This package also introduces a new $55 million screening threshold for foreign investment in Australian agribusinesses. These thresholds will provide greater scrutiny and transparency of foreign investment in our agricultural industry, which we know is more reflective of community expectations. I want to stress that this simply means that smaller acquisitions will face the same scrutiny and the same national interest test as larger acquisitions. It also means that we will have a clearer record of the cumulative nature of foreign investment in agriculture. We believe that such transparency is a positive thing and will help ensure community confidence in the system and, therefore, support for our foreign investment regime.

To that end, these bills were preceded by a very lengthy public consultation process. There were full public consultations in February and March through the release of an options paper titled 'Strengthening Australia's foreign investment framework'. There were 192 submissions received from individuals, peak bodies and other stakeholders. In May there was consultation on the Modernisation Options Paper and another 22 submissions. The exposure draft of the legislation was open to consultation in July and further submissions received.

We have been very careful to ensure that a range of views were canvassed and taken into consideration. There is of course a wide range of views when it comes to the issue of foreign investment. I note that many of the submissions by individuals argued against allowing foreign investment. In contrast, other stakeholders, including business groups and peak bodies, argued that the framework should be careful not to discourage foreign investment.

This package of measures gets the balance right. As I said at the outset, foreign investment is hugely beneficial to our economic growth and therefore contributes to the standard of living we all enjoy. I know that on the Gold Coast foreign investment has been an important part of our growth and helped create the infrastructure that underpins our tourism industry.

The Gold Coast economy is set to leverage its advantage internationally with the significant city projects and legacy prospects created by the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. Gold Coast City's economy is well placed to cater for a shift in international trade partners from the manufacturing sector to an increase in service exports focusing on education, tourism and other knowledge based industries.

We know that stimulating direct foreign investment and business attractions on the coast will be dependent on the successful showcasing of our region's competitive advantages—of which there are many. Investment around key infrastructure areas such as the city's new central business district in Southport, the light rail corridor, and the health and knowledge precinct in my electorate are all key focuses in the City of Gold Coast's international plan and the city's economic development strategy.

I also note that the Gold Coast is leading the way when it comes to foreign investment in residential property, which of course is a boost to local jobs through our local construction industry and the many attendant manufacturing industries.

In 2013-2014, more than $238.3 million was spent by foreigner property investors across the Gold Coast in 377 separate transactions. This was far greater than other South-East Queensland local government areas—with the Sunshine Coast at $8.9 million, Noosa at $11.4 million and Logan at $9.4 million. And while the purchasers came from 28 different countries in regions all around the world, do you know where the largest group of investors came from? China. In fact, Chinese property investment on the Gold Coast was worth $148 million—more than half the total foreign property investment.

This is yet another reason why that Labor's continuing opposition to the China-Australia free trade agreement is nothing short of appalling. Clearly, there are some differences between federal Labor's view and state Labor. Labor leaders from New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia support the agreement. They recognise how much it will benefit Australia, as do businesses and other community leaders, including former Labor luminaries Bob Hawke, Bob Carr, Simon Crean and Martin Ferguson.

As Jennifer Westacott from the Business Council of Australia said:

ChAFTA will take investment into Australia to another level, making our economy stronger and creating more jobs for Australians long into the future.

Australia exports $108 billion worth of goods and services a year to China, which is more than double the $52 billion that we import. We stand to earn billions more as a result of this agreement with tariffs lifted on our exports. Federal Labor's opposition absolutely makes no sense, and I really urge those opposite to get on board and support the China free trade agreement.

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