Foreign investment in Australian agricultural land and agribusiness

03 August 2012 | Many nations including China, India, Brazil, the United States and New Zealand have foreign investment regimes that provide more regulatory oversight and greater transparency than ours in terms of land holdings. We believe proper oversight can provide greater certainty to investors and ensure there is greater confidence in the Australian community that the investment taking place in agriculture and agribusiness is in our national interest.

The Coalition supports the Foreign Investment Review Board (the FIRB) and the Free Trade Agreements to which Australia is a signatory. The Policy Discussion Paper affirms this support.

The Coalition recognises that the thresholds and guidelines regarding foreign investment in the general business sector are not necessarily the right settings for the agricultural sector.

In its Policy Discussion Paper, the Coalition is seeking community and industry comment on the following proposals: - Developing and implementing a national register of foreign ownership of real property in cooperation with state land titles offices and, through the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, a national register of foreign ownership of businesses valued above an appropriate threshold; - FIRB consideration of any proposed foreign acquisition of agricultural land valued at $15 million or more (cumulative).

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Link: 2012 Lowy Institute poll: opposition to Chinese investment

APO Link: Chinese perspectives on investing in Australia 

 

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