Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, earlier today representatives from the 100 per cent Australian owned consortium, BBHO, attended Parliament House, and they are here in the gallery. Do you agree, as a matter of principle and for the national interest, that if there is a credible, commercially competitive, 100 per cent Australian bid for an iconic Australian asset such as S Kidman and Co cattle empire that the local bid should take precedence over any other bids involving overseas interests?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question and I applaud her patriotism. We always welcome Australians investing in Australian agriculture. But, as you know, the decisions to make investments are taken by individual commercial enterprises. There is a level of federal regulation, which is, of course, as you understand, the foreign takeovers legislation administered by the Treasurer, so I will ask him to further respond to your question.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Prime Minister, and I thank the member for her question. As she would know, as Treasurer, I rejected the proposal for foreign ownership of Kidman and Co. I rejected it; those opposite were going to approve it. We rejected it, and that has provided the opportunity for bidders to come forward to purchase that property.

It is Kidman and Co that is selling that property not the government—no-one else. They are in charge of the process for deciding which bids they will accept or not accept, and they will obviously be subject to the legislation governing foreign investment in Australia. So, I am pleased about the fact, having rejected the foreign ownership proposal for Kidman, which was going to be approved by those opposite had they won the election, that now there are other bids coming forward. When those bids come forward we will consider those to the extent that they require the approval of the government in relation to any foreign ownership component of those.

But, given we are on the topic of foreign investment, I am very pleased that in New South Wales there has been the announcement today that, following our decision to reject the foreign ownership proposal for Ausgrid, there has been a fully Australian owned proposal that has come forward. To achieve the sale of Ausgrid in New South Wales and that it remains under Australian ownership has been facilitated through the operations of the decisions here. But I particularly wish to commend the New South Wales Treasurer, Gladys Berejiklian, and the New South Wales Premier, Mike Baird, for what they have done to ensure that these assets can be recycled and invested back into important infrastructure in New South Wales. Both of these decisions, whether on Ausgrid or Kidman, show that the government is doing its job when it comes to policing foreign investment in this country, and that is bringing forward Australian investment—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer will resume his seat. Has the Treasurer concluded his answer? The Treasurer has concluded his answer.