Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, on the issue of water holdings and private water holdings, I want to clarify that although the Greens remain cautious about the role of foreign investment in Australia's waters we are equally as cautious about large domestic investors. And the Greens are committed to working towards greater transparency in the agricultural land and water holdings of all investors, not just foreign ones. This chamber knows from experience that market concentration and abusing differences in knowledge held by different parties are by no means tactics that are unique to foreign investors. These same abuses are part and parcel of the business model of many domestic Australian investors. So, the Greens will continue to investigate options for greater detail in public registers of these assets, although we do appreciate the existing limits on the tax office in both protecting privacy and balancing information collection with the costs of reporting requirements.

In conclusion, I want to comment on the amendments that have been circulated in the chamber. The Greens will be supporting the amendment by Senator Leyonhjelm. We did not support Senator Leyonhjelm's original amendment to insert a sunset clause into the Register of Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land Amendment (Water) Bill 2016. And although we disagree with the necessity of a Productivity Commission review of the legislation within the next five years, we believe that Senator Leyonhjelm has put forward this compromise amendment in good faith and we will support it to ensure as broad a consensus as possible on this bill. I commend this bill to the Senate.

Nick Xenophon (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I support the Register of Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land Amendment (Water) Bill 2016 on behalf of my colleagues, Senators Kakoschke-Moore and Griff. I just want to make a couple of observations. I think Senator Rice has elegantly set out the framework of the legislation in terms of what it is meant to do, but I am concerned that it will not be effective enough. We do need this register. We do need to find out who owns the water. The disaggregation of water and land was something that happened a number of years ago, and that was a controversial move at the time, but it helped facilitate water trading in this country. That is the reality of what we now have. Having an effective water register is fundamental in terms of transparency. My concern is that our land ownership register has not been as transparent as it could be. We have seen articles in Fairfax media by Michael Koziol, the political reporter, based here in Canberra, which raised real issues about the efficacy of the land ownership register. I have concerns about whether the water ownership register will similarly have problems in relation to that.

We do not oppose the legislation, and I note that my colleague in the other place, Rebekha Sharkie MP, the member for Mayo, also supported this bill. She made a very good point that Australian people expect more transparency. This bill makes some inroads on that policy theme, but the concern is that those inroads may be very limited because of potential loopholes we have seen in this legislation. The statistics released earlier this year regarding foreign ownership of land were less than satisfactory. For instance—and the point that Ms Sharkie made:

The Australian public now knows that 13.6 per cent of our farmland is owned by international interests, but where is the detail? What is the dollar value of that land? Where is the detail on the total number of farms owned? Where is the easy public access? Where are the region-specific statistics? We have taken the first steps towards greater public access, but it is limited. We could provide, and we should provide, much greater transparency.

Those words of Rebekha Sharkie MP, the member for Mayo, really sum up our concerns here in the Senate with respect to this.

I note that no less than Alan Jones, the broadcaster, has criticised the government for 'an utter betrayal of public trust', for 'whitewashing' the foreign land ownership register. I just hope we will not have that whitewashing with respect to this register. So, I think it is important that there is continued scrutiny as to how it operates. I hope that the government would have learnt from the criticisms regarding the land ownership register. Whilst we support this bill and we hope it does what it is meant to do, there must be constant vigilance to ensure that it does live up to its promises. No doubt I and my colleagues, in the Senate estimates process, will be asking questions about how it actually operates. With those few words, we support this bill, but we just hope it does what it is meant to do.

David Leyonhjelm (NSW, Liberal Democratic Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Register of Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land Amendment (Water) Bill 2016 requires foreigners who own various water rights to report to the government so that the government can let the rest of us know. What a great idea! But why stop there? Let's require foreigners to report on their ownership of other inputs to agricultural production, like diesel, fertiliser and seed. This could be even more important than reporting on water rights, because foreigners cannot take water rights out of the country—even though I am sure they would dearly love to—but they might be able to take diesel, fertiliser and seed out of the country. This would cut Aussie agriculture off at the knees. And why stop at agriculture? Let's require foreigners to report on any business inputs they own here. They could be accumulating a stockpile of Aussie utes and besser blocks, for all we know!

Why stop at foreigners? There are plenty of other minority groups in Australia who might own Aussie things. Let's require anyone who is not a straight, white Aussie to report to the government on what they own! Sure, it will take up a lot of their time, but it least during that time the rest of us can be sure that they were not up to mischief. After all, idle hands make the devil's work! Sure, they might feel singled out and unwelcome while they fill out their forms under threat of penalty, but isn't that what this is all about? Isn't that exactly the point?

Finally, I advise the Senate that I will be moving an amendment that will require the Productivity Commission to investigate, within three years, the effectiveness of this register. I am confident it will find it is an utter waste of time and money.

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the Register of Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land Amendment (Water) Bill 2016. I believe it is very important. Under this bill, from 1 July 2017, foreign investors will be required to register, with the Australian Taxation Office, details of both their existing ownership of water rights and any subsequent rights that they purchase. This is a long overdue measure, as currently there is no comprehensive source of information on this. Currently, the only official source of national data on foreign ownership of Australian water is ABS's Agricultural land and water ownership survey, also known as the ALWOS, which was conducted in 2010 and 2013.

The ALWOS paints an alarming image of a 55 per cent increase in foreign ownership between 2010 and 2013 alone. The survey reveals that by 2013, 14 per cent of Australian water rights were subject to foreign ownership. Western Australia and the Northern Territory have no records of foreign ownership or a disclosure list. Even these Agricultural land and water ownership survey figures are an underestimate, as they do not consider foreign ownership of water rights used for mining, manufacturing and energy production. Most of the increases, and the highest increase, came in Queensland, where foreign ownership of water rights increased from six per cent to 26 per cent between 2010 and 2013.

I now draw attention to Agenda 21 of 1992, which was the Earth Summit. Under Agenda 21, it states in chapter 18 to go out around the world and look at the prospects of privatising water throughout the world in First World countries. This is exactly what is happening. There should be no foreign ownership of water in Australia. Water should belong only to the Australian people. No-one has a right over it; it should not be bought and sold on the open market. We must protect our water rights. It is the lifeblood of this nation. The farming sector depends on it, manufacturing depends on it and everyday families depend on it.

Under Agenda 21, it is stated that if you have a dam on your property, you can only capture 10 per cent of that water. The rest must flow to the rivers and creeks, otherwise you will be paying a tax on it. This is undersurveyed, but it does happen. It is surveyed by the satellite system. We are having places now in Australia where the councils are now saying, 'You will start paying a tax on the rainwater that you collect in your tanks.' We cannot allow this to head down this path and allow governments and councils to have foreign ownership of our water in Australia. If we allow that happen, we are then opening up for them to control where industries, manufacturing, development and housing happen and for them to take over control of our country.

A major part of this wholesale foreign buyout of Queensland water rights came from the shameful sale of Cubbie Station in 2012 for $240 million to a consortium dominated by the Shandong RuYi Scientific and Technological Group. Clearly, that was not in the national interest. The Australian government allowed the Chinese buyout of the massive Cubbie Station cotton plantation contrasts sharply with the fact that the Chinese government does not allow foreigners to buy any Chinese property. If we are to prevent a continuing fire sale of our national resources, as a starting point we at least need to know what in already in foreign hands. Accordingly, this bill is an essential measure so that Australians can know whether there is an ongoing foreign takeover of our water entitlements.

However, one apparent omission from this bill is the absence of significant penalties for foreigners who fail to comply with this new law. In the event of a foreigner failing to disclose a purchase of water rights, the current wording of the bill only provides for a minor administrative penalty, pursuant to subsection 286C in the schedule of the Taxation Administration Act 1953. There is widespread flouting of Australia's laws prohibiting foreign purchases of existing residential properties. There is a case in point as to this as well: we have a rising cost in housing in Australia, where ordinary Australians cannot buy housing due to foreign ownership. Under our laws, foreign owners can only buy new housing and not established housing. That needs to be policed a lot more.

What One Nation proposes is that identification must be presented at point of sale, whether it be by passport, birth certificate or some identification. That is so that—at the point of sale, when you sign-off on that contract—you present that documentation that states that you have the right to buy the property and are not some foreign investor who has not gone through the financial review board. Also, the real estate agents must be made accountable to ensure that the property has been sold to an Australian—so that right of a permanent resident or an Australian citizenship to buy that property—and that it is not foreign ownership.

We know that there are investors in this country who will disregard our laws if they see a profit in it and if they think that they can get away with it. I call on the government to impose significant fines that are at least equal to the value of the rights on foreign buyers of Australian water rights who fail to comply with this law and register their interest with the ATO. I would rather see no foreign ownership. At least there is a register now that has been set up by the government, but I do not believe that any foreign buyer should own our water, our land or anything in Australia. It should always remain in the hands of the people of Australia, and I do not believe in foreign ownership, as well, of our services, such as electricity, gas, telecommunications or any part of our defence forces. I do welcome this bill and that we are now going to have a register. I think that is important, but it needs to go a lot further. Thank you.

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

I thank all senators who have contributed to this debate and commend the bill to the Senate.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the bill now be read a second time.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.