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

Like my colleagues on this side of the House, in both the Liberal Party and the Nationals, I rise to speak in support of the package of three bills to strengthen Australia's foreign investment framework—the Foreign Investments and Takeovers Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 and two related bills. It is a great pleasure to follow my friend the member for Gellibrand, who gave us a lot of misinformation and accusations about double standards and hypocrisy and suggested that the people on this side were conflicted in relation to our dealings with China but failed to mention that the basic problem with the argument from a Labor perspective is that they are opposed to the Chinese free trade agreement. The member for Gellibrand has left the chamber, but I look forward to catching up with him soon and hearing more about how he now supports investment between Australia and China.

It is always very amusing for members who come from regional communities—like my colleagues the member for Forrest, Nola Marina, and the member for Lyons, here behind me, Eric Hutchinson—and who actually represent farmers in this place to get lectures from members such as the member for Gellibrand about farming. He talked about increasing agricultural productivity but then failed to acknowledge that the Chinese free trade agreement actually provides more opportunities for Australian farmers to deal with the Chinese market and puts them on a level playing field with our Kiwi cousins. We are at a price disadvantage right now with New Zealand, particularly with Fonterra. The Chinese free trade agreement actually provides opportunities for us to trade into that market on a more competitive basis.

So, I welcome the opportunity to debate this issue, and I welcome the contribution from the member for Gellibrand, because it just shows how hopelessly conflicted the Australian Labor Party is on this issue. I refer to the second reading speech by the member for North Sydney, about the nature of the legislation before the House. As he indicated, it is all about making sure that this legislative package will ensure that Australia has a welcoming environment for investment and also one that ensures that the investment is not contrary to our national interest. Surely that is the fundamental reason we are here debating this bill today—making sure that the foreign investment that occurs in Australia in the future is not contrary to our national interest. It adds more integrity to the system so that everybody plays by the rules, and with that integrity comes the opportunity for more compliance measures. I expect—and I think the vast majority of people throughout Australia who have raised this issue with me also expect—that our foreign investment rules are strong, that they are effective and that they are actually enforceable.

With this package of bills before the House we are implementing an election promise and keeping faith with the Australian people on our commitment to increase scrutiny and transparency around foreign investment in agriculture. These bills are common-sense bills, and they have the support of the vast majority of regional Australians I have had the opportunity to meet with in my role as a member of parliament for the past seven years. Foreign purchase of agricultural land is an issue of great interest to people not only in my electorate of Gippsland but, more broadly, throughout regional Australia. Fundamental to the issue is getting a handle on exactly what is going on in our nation right now. There is an opportunity here to properly measure what is occurring throughout regional Australia rather than guessing, as has been the case in the past. So, when these new measures were announced in February I said that people in my electorate would welcome this legislation, and that has been the case in the ensuing months as I have met with people throughout Gippsland.

The vast majority of people in regional areas are not opposed to foreign investment as such and recognise that foreign investment has been critical to the economic development and the growth of Australia, not just regional Australia. We know that when it comes to agriculture the foreign investment regime strengthens our economy, promotes growth and can be in our national interest. But that does not mean that we should not apply proper oversight to the rules as they apply in this nation. These measures are not about stopping foreign investment but are about providing Australians with more information about who is buying land in our nation and how much land they are buying. As other speakers have recognised, foreign investments can bring many benefits and can support both existing jobs and the opportunity for new jobs.

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