A long-awaited audit of Australian farmland has shattered the myth that the country’s farms are being sold off to foreign interests.
The Agricultural Land Register, compiled by the Australian Tax Office, shows more than 85 per cent of farmland remains in local hands.
The report was prepared by the Turnbull government in response to growing concerns of Chinese investment in Australian agricultural regions.
But these fears appear undone with China only ranking fifth on the register, owning just 1.5 million hectares – or less than 0.5 per cent of the country’s total agricultural land.
Rather Britain has the biggest stake, owning 27.5 million hectares or almost 53 per cent of all foreign-owned farmland.
The United States follows, with nearly 8 million hectares, trailed by the Netherlands with 1.5 million hectares and Singapore with 1.9 million hectares.
Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce heralded the report, saying in a statement that “this is the first comprehensive data on the actual level of foreign ownership of agricultural land in Australia.”
But Victorian Farmer Federation’s President, David Jochinke, disagrees saying the report neglects to account for the agricultural value of farmland.
“They’re talking purely area here. If you compare something in the middle of the outback versus high productive dairy land, they’re not really apples and apples”.
Instead, the federation is calling for the register to outline investment in farmland of greatest value to Australian society.
“What we would like to also see is information on the agricultural sectors that the investment is in. It’s a bit hard to say what level of [foreign investment] I’m comfortable with until I know which sectors [we’re] talking about.”
The full register can be found here: http://firb.gov.au/about/publication/register-of-foreign-ownership-of-agricultural-land/
David Jochinke by Madeleine Jackel
Victoria Farmer Federation’s President, David Jochinke, calls for the government to provide a more comprehensive analysis of foreign investment in Australia’s farmland.
