Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




TRADE WARS
Australian opposition wants more foreign investment scrutiny
by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) Aug 3, 2012


Australia's conservative opposition on Friday earmarked tighter scrutiny of foreign investment in agriculture as a priority if the party is elected to government next year as recent polls suggest.

Rural conservative politicians have recently warned against selling valuable agricultural land to foreign investors, particularly China which is Australia's top trading partner due to bullish resources exports.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott said while he welcomed foreign investment, Australia needed to improve oversight when it came to farming land and agribusiness, as the party released a policy paper on the subject.

"I want to make it absolutely crystal clear that the (opposition) coalition unambiguously supports foreign investment in Australia," Abbott said.

"We need it, we want it, it is essential for our continued national prosperity ... what's very important though is that the public have confidence that the foreign investment we need and want is in Australia's national interest."

The policy paper called for the Foreign Investment Review Board to consider any proposed foreign acquisition of agricultural land valued at more than Aus$15 million (US$15.7 million).

It also demands any proposed foreign purchase of an agribusiness of more than Aus$53 million be scrutinised.

It notes "growing community and industry concern that some types of acquisitions may be contrary to the national interest and that a strengthening of the regime may be advantageous to the long-term prosperity and food security of Australia".

A government study into ownership of Australian agriculture published in January found that foreign firms controlled about half of the nation's key food industries but offshore investors owned just 11 percent of its farmland.

The opposition paper follows a speech by Abbott in China last month in which he said it would rarely be in the national interest to allow a foreign government to control an Australian business, comments the government dismissed as "dangerously dumb".

China is Australia's number-one export market and its top source of imports, with two-way trade worth Aus$113.7 billion in 2011.

The two nations were reported in May to be in talks about direct Chinese investment to develop northern Australian farms focused mainly on beef, sheep, sugar and dairy, in a bid to boost food security.

Treasurer Wayne Swan said the opposition's plan was a "muddle".

"The truth is the government has a very strong set of national interest guidelines which govern state-owned enterprise investment in Australia," he said.

.


Related Links
Global Trade News






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








TRADE WARS
Thousands march in rival protests at Italian steel giant
Taranto, Italy (AFP) Aug 2, 2012
Thousands of Italians took to the streets in the southern city of Taranto Thursday in rival protests over the closure of one of Europe's largest steel plants due to pollution concerns. The impoverished industrial port has become the scene of a fierce stand-off between those who want the deadly ILVA plant closed and the thousands of families that depend on it at a time of worsening economic c ... read more


TRADE WARS
FEMA cell-phone alerts warn too many

Queen, politicians, Nobel winner named to UN social panel

Sri Lanka navy urges Australia to deport boatpeople

Samurai festival returns to disaster-hit Japan

TRADE WARS
Too cool to follow the law

Lockheed Martin Submits Final Proposal for Air and Missile Defense Radar

Lockheed Martin-ARINC Team Submit Bid for USAF Rapid Deployment Air Traffic Control Radar System

Samsung set to debut new Note phone

TRADE WARS
France's Veolia boosts cost cutting, stock tumbles

Earth absorbs more of our CO2 emissions: science

Spillways can divert sand from river to rebuild wetlands

Coral reef thriving in sediment-laden waters

TRADE WARS
Researchers analyze melting glaciers and water resources in Central Asia

Who owns the North Pole?

China to build first polar-expedition icebreaker

Hidden rift valley discovered beneath West Antarctica reveals new insight into ice loss

TRADE WARS
UCLA research makes possible rapid assessment of plant drought tolerance

Parched fields as drought devastates US crops

Public strongly supports programs helping farmers adapt to climate change

Study: All chickens have Asian roots

TRADE WARS
Philippine typhoon death toll rises to 37

Are large earthquakes linked across the globe?

Six dead as Typhoon Saola lashes Taiwan

N. Koreans urgently need drinking water after floods: UN

TRADE WARS
Mali wives prevent loyalist soldiers' arrest

Panetta to visit North Africa, Middle East

Brother of exiled Rwandan ex-army chief gets 9 years' jail

Mozambique told to tackle crime

TRADE WARS
Later Stone Age got earlier start in South Africa than thought

Modern culture 44,000 years ago

Hey, I'm over here: Men and women see things differently

Piglets in mazes provide insights into human cognitive development




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement