By JONATHON HOWARD
SOUTHERN Downs farmland was among those properties being snapped up by foreign investors at an alarming rate, according to the Australian Greens Leader Senator Christine Milne, who has called for a government crackdown.
“Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott have an open slather approach when it comes to foreign ownership of Australia’s prime agricultural land and water,” Senator Milne said.
“Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2011 revealed more than 45 million hectares of Australia’s prime agricultural land was (now) foreign owned.
“But the survey was far from conclusive because we have no register of how many farms and water licences are foreign owned.
“The current inadequate scrutiny by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) over the sale of our land and water is failing to protect our national interest.
“We do not even keep accurate records on the levels of foreign ownership despite multi-partisan support for the creation of a national register to track overseas purchases.
“At the moment, a foreign investor can make purchases of up to $248 million before they are subject to scrutiny by FIRB. On top of that the FIRB is not required to take into account cumulative purchases by the same foreign entity allowing creeping ownership.
“Other countries with significant agricultural assets including the US, New Zealand, Argentina, China and Brazil have more stringent restrictions and greater levels of scrutiny on foreign purchase of land.
“With climate change driving the collapse of crops, the food security issue is expected to worsen over the next few years such that food will become the new oil, dominating geopolitical considerations.
“Australia is one of the countries being targeted by foreign buyers to secure their nation’s own food security.
“Keeping control of our prime agricultural land and water resources is critical to maximise our own resilience and provide exports to the global market.
“This is why the Greens are determined to protect our land and water and keep them in Australian ownership.”
