Extensive calls for a public register of foreign ownership of Australian agricultural land have been answered.
National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) yesterday welcomed the Federal Government’s planned introduction of a foreign investment register.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard made the announcement in a speech to the NFF at its 2012 National Congress.
The foreign investment register will provide detailed information of the specific size and locations of foreign agricultural landholdings in Australia.
Experts and Australian agriculture advocates have been calling for a register of foreign land ownership for some time, following revelations that prime agricultural land is being bought up by foreign companies and governments.
The company trading as Kimberly Agricultural Investments (KAI) and owned by the Chinese government, has vied for the entire 15 000 hectare Ord Expansion project in the north of Australia, while last month Japanese trading house Itchu Corp bought into the Australian food industry by snapping up farms in Queensland.
Allowing Asian companies to buy up significant agricultural land would conflict Gillard’s proclamations that Australia should be the ‘Asian foodbowl’ for future economic prosperity, as Australian companies would not benefit from the food production, which would be sent back to the rising Asian middle class.
NFF president Jock Laurie said that while he welcomes foreign investment in Australian agricultural land the register was necessary to provide “greater transparency.”
“It is very important that we do not deter foreign investment, but as we have been saying for months, we do want to see greater transparency around investment to ensure that the motivations behind this investment are clear,” Laurie said.
Laurie said that Australian farmers are concerned about foreign-owned entities purchasing Australian agricultural land, and there needs to be a greater focus on Australia’s future food security.
“Before any policy decisions are made on this important issue, we need to first have the national land register in place to understand the current levels of foreign investment in agriculture,” he said.
The foreign investment register announcement yesterday comes after the launch of the national land register in April 2012, which makes it compulsory for all foreign organisations to report the sale of Australian agricultural land or water.
However, the land register is not fully operational yet.
In June, the Federal Government’s plans to make Australia the Asian food bowl were labelled “a waste of taxpayer’s money” by the Wilderness Society, and a poll found over 80 per cent of Australians are also against plans to encourage Chinese investment in agricultural land.