John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I take this opportunity to wish you and your family, and all senators and their spouses and families, all the best for Christmas. I hope that 2016 is a very, very successful year for the Turnbull-Truss government. My question is to the Minister for Finance, Senator Cormann, representing the Treasurer. Will the minister inform the Senate of the government's new foreign investment measures which will increase the transparency of foreign investment into Australia?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Williams for that question and, as Senator Williams knows, I am a very strong supporter of increased levels of foreign investment into Australia. Indeed, the government are a very strong supporter of increased foreign investment into Australia because we understand that increased levels of foreign investment provides additional capital to strengthen economic growth, to create more jobs and to improve consumer choice, and it also promotes healthy competition. Because we understand the importance of foreign investment to the future success of our economy, we also understand that we need to have an appropriately framed regulatory regime in place to manage foreign investment to ensure that people can have confidence that any foreign investment which is contrary to the national interest is not able to proceed. In that context, of course, it is very important to have thresholds to ensure that the appropriate levels of investments have the right levels of scrutiny.

The new measures, which came into effect on Tuesday this week following the passage of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Legislation Amendment Bill 2015, are the result of extensive consultations across business, industry and the community. They reflect the policies which the coalition took to the last election, and we can be sure that the Australian people can have confidence in the foreign investment framework in place in Australia and that is fit for a 21st century economic environment.

Among the key changes, the new measures better align the foreign investment framework with other corporate legislation. The Australian Taxation Office has been given responsibility for regulating foreign investment in residential real estate. Stricter penalties will make it easier to pursue foreign investors that breach the rules. Application fees will ensure that Australian taxpayers no longer have to fund the cost of administering the system, and there are a range of other measures that were also part of the legislation, which becomes effective this week. (Time expired)

John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister further inform the Senate how the new arrangements around the purchase of residential properties will benefit Australia?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Williams for that supplementary question. The new arrangements are about ensuring that first home buyers and other home buyers across Australia get a fair go when they turn up to an auction or go into a real estate agents office. The government has provided additional resources to the Australian Taxation Office to improve compliance and to strengthen the enforcement of the rules regarding the purchase of residential real estate by foreign investors. The ATO can cover more than 600 million transactions annually through its data-matching programs, matching its own taxpayer data with a variety of third-party sources, including the Foreign Investment Review Board, Immigration, AUSTRAC banking data and state and territory land title data. The ATO compliance officers are then in a position to investigate any suspected breaches and ensure that appropriate measures are taken to ensure compliance with the law.

John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Will the minister outline how these changes will improve the scrutiny and transparency of new and existing foreign investments in agriculture?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When the legislation passed, the coalition government delivered, as I indicated earlier, on a key election commitment. With global food demand projected to almost double by 2050, good quality agriculture and water assets in state geographical locations will become increasingly valuable because of the scarcity of the resources involved. Proper oversight and understanding of the level and nature of foreign ownership of our agricultural land and assets is about understanding Australia's long-term national interests.

A central Commonwealth land register will, for the first time, provide an accurate picture of foreign ownership of agricultural land in Australia. The register will include a stocktake of existing ownership, providing a clear picture of foreign investment in Australia's agricultural sector. Lowering the general screening threshold for agricultural land acquired by foreign investors from $252 million to $15 million, and the screening threshold for agribusiness from $252 million to $55 million will ensure that foreign investment applications are appropriately scrutinised.