Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I apologise to Senator Madigan. In terms of the government's position: we apply a rigorous national interest test to all foreign investment applications. We screen every dollar of direct investment from foreign governments. The reality is that Australia has long been reliant on foreign capital to build and develop its business in all parts of the economy, including agriculture. I referred earlier to the commissioning of the ABS to give the government and the Australian people a better picture of the foreign investment landscape. The intention there was to take sensible steps to acquire a comprehensive snapshot of foreign investment levels in Australia's agricultural land, water entitlements and agribusiness. As I said, I am advised that the data indicates a relatively stable level of investment for around the last three decades. (Time expired)