Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

) ( ): I have here just a couple of some 19 boxes containing 50,000 petition signatures from AUSBUY, which promotes Australian owned companies and Australian made products, handed over today to me and to members and senators from a diverse range of political parties. That petition seeks an immediate moratorium on the sale of Australian wealth creating assets, such as land and strategic businesses, until a clear definition of the national interest test is established for Australia.

I believe that we have an obligation to our children and to future generations to leave them the same opportunities as we have enjoyed. If we sell off fundamental assets like land, food, water and energy we compromise their chances. I think that that is short-sighted and diminishes our control over our own destiny. I think we need to have a debate about whether the level of foreign ownership we are now witnessing is in Australia's best interests and, without resorting to name calling, and if it is not in Australia's best interests, what action we should take to stop the ongoing decline of Australian ownership of Australian land, food and resources. It is noticeable that foreign investment in Australian agriculture has exploded since the global financial crisis with overseas buyers seeking approvals of something like 250 times higher than the value of applications pre-GFC, when applications per annum totalled just $10 million. (Time expired)