Senator Penny Wong says the Coalition’s policies will make Australia less attractive as an investment destination. Picture: Supplied
Senator Penny Wong slams Coalition agricultural foreign investment policy
by EMMA FIELD
LABOR’s trade spokeswoman Senator Penny Wong has slammed the Coalition’s agricultural foreign investment policy at today’s premier grains industry event.
Senator Wong told the Australian Grains Industry Conference in Melbourne today the government’s changes to the foreign investment review board threshold and increased fees on foreign investment applications would make Australia less competitive.
In March the Government changed Foreign Investment Review Board screening threshold for purchases from $252 million to $15 million.
The Government also plans to reduce the threshold for investments in meat, dairy, fruit and vegetable or grain processors to $55 million, also down from $253 million.
“These policies will make Australia less attractive as an investment destination. They make it harder for this sector to attract capital and put downward pressure on the value of farm assets,” Senator Wong said.
To take advantage of new markets abroad farmers needed to increase production and to do this the sector needs foreign investment, Senator Wong said.
“If we are serious about growing our food exports to Asia we need foreign as well as domestic investment in our agriculture sector,” she said.
“These rules are not just a deterrent to new investors they are disincentives for existing investors to improve their operations.”
She said the proposed lowering of the threshold on foreign investment in agribusiness to $55 million “potentially includes around half of our food manufacturing industry.”
Senator Wong also criticised the government for “a complex regime of preferential and discriminatory thresh holds”, which discriminated against certain countries wanting to invest in Australia.
“We have a situation where the foreign investment screening threshold for agriculture land is $15 billion for investors from China, Korea and Japan but not for investors from the US or New Zealand,” she said.
Labor was also unhappy about the budget measures introduced by the Abbott Government, which increased fees on foreign investors applications.
“Making Australia one of the few countries in the world to impose a tax on inwards investment,” Senator Wong said.
