Senate inquiry calls for audit of foreign-owned agriculture

Senate inquiry calls for audit of foreign-owned agriculture

Tuesday, 24/08/2010

An inquiry into food production in Australia has recommended an audit of foreign-owned agricultural land and water.

It's one of four recommendations to come out of the two-year Senate inquiry investigating how Australian can produce food that's affordable, viable for farmers and environmentally sustainable.

Chair of the inquiry, Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan, says Australia needs to pay more attention to foreign investment in agriculture.

"We need to make sure that as a policy for Australia's sovereignty and controlling our own destiny, that we have a policy that looks at selling our surplus food to foreign entities, rather than selling our farms to them."

The rural advocacy group SACA supports the recommendation for a land and water inventory.

Sustainable Agriculture Communities Australia's head Robert Belcher says the nation must begin to value land and water on an international scale.

"I've been arguing for nearly 10 years that this country does not understand its natural resource, and it treats farmers and food production with absolute contempt," he says.

"You would have thought that if there was leadership in this country, they would have a plan.

"Have they got a plan? No, they have got a bi-partisan agreement that fortunately Tony Abbott has decided to break, but that agreement was to stay mum about foreign investment.

"What other country does that?"

The Senate food inquiry report has finally been made public (photo ABC)

Australia Broadcasting Corporation | Tuesday, 24/08/2010

An inquiry into food production in Australia has recommended an audit of foreign-owned agricultural land and water.

It's one of four recommendations to come out of the two-year Senate inquiry investigating how Australian can produce food that's affordable, viable for farmers and environmentally sustainable.

Chair of the inquiry, Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan, says Australia needs to pay more attention to foreign investment in agriculture.

"We need to make sure that as a policy for Australia's sovereignty and controlling our own destiny, that we have a policy that looks at selling our surplus food to foreign entities, rather than selling our farms to them."

The rural advocacy group SACA supports the recommendation for a land and water inventory.

Sustainable Agriculture Communities Australia's head Robert Belcher says the nation must begin to value land and water on an international scale.

"I've been arguing for nearly 10 years that this country does not understand its natural resource, and it treats farmers and food production with absolute contempt," he says.

"You would have thought that if there was leadership in this country, they would have a plan.

"Have they got a plan? No, they have got a bi-partisan agreement that fortunately Tony Abbott has decided to break, but that agreement was to stay mum about foreign investment.

"What other country does that?"

Click here to download the report (PDF 984Kb)
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