11 Feb 2015
THE Queensland Farmers’ Federation has called for greater detail around the Federal Government’s plans around the treatment of foreign investment into agriculture.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced today that the government would lower the threshold for Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) scrutiny of agricultural land to $15 million (from $252M), and that it would also soon implement a register of foreign owned land.
QFF CEO Dan Galligan said industry welcomed the implementation of the register, which may provide credible land ownership data so that the issue could be better understood.
“But implementing a lower threshold for FIRB scrutiny ahead of the register being developed pre-empts what it may reveal. Lowering the threshold to this specific level may not be the appropriate instrument for dealing with this issue,” Mr Galligan said.
“It is unclear what the lower threshold seeks to achieve in the context of the policy change as we don’t know on what basis a sale would be accepted or rejected.
“In the absence of that, there is a concern that this decision throws barriers in the way of foreign investment and sends the wrong message to overseas investors who see value in investing in Australian agriculture.
“Without explanation of the long term objective, it risks inconsistency with the government’s objectives around free trade agreements and promoting our sector around the world.
“The long term objective should include promotion of agriculture as profitable and productive place to do business, both for domestic and overseas investors.”
Mr Galligan said that QFF also called on the government to clarify that it would include water assets in its register, as today’s media release made no mention of water assets, despite these assets being a crucial part of agriculture and at times worth more than the accompanying land.
“It is imperative that we better understand what is happening with foreign investment in agriculture, so the register is a welcome step but very little progress seems to have been made on its development.
“Foreign investment is a crucial part of the investment landscape and vital to growth and productivity. Our sector has relied on it. We must resist basic calls that tread too close to fear without evidence, as this sends a negative message that the process for investment in Australian agriculture is too complicated and risky.”
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