Sun shines over green pasture land at a cattle farm in Smithton of Tasmania, Australia on May 19, 2008. Ian Waldie/Getty Images
A bid has been launched in the Federal Parliament to block taxpayer dollars from helping foreign entities buy out prime Australian farmland.
Shadow Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Dan Tehan introduced a private member’s bill on Sept. 14 to prevent the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), a federal government-owned financial institution, from financing foreign firms that convert food-producing land into carbon-offset projects.
“This bill is aimed at stopping Labor’s net zero agenda from literally destroying our way of life,” he told the House of Representatives.
“We are seeing our farmland being harmed. Communities are being harmed because Labor are pursuing the wrong priorities.”
“The poor old Australian farmer, the poor old Tasmanian farmer, who thinks they wouldn’t mind using this land as a dairy farm, as a beef farm or for any other purpose,” Tehan added.
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“How can they compete with a government organisation that tips in $69 million? It is an absolute disgrace.”
Tehan warned that regional economies face a catastrophic loss of jobs as local businesses suffer and rural populations dwindle.
He also argued that foreign firms were being allowed to drastically alter rural townships without any community consultation.
“This private member’s bill is all about saying enough is enough. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation cannot step in and help fund a foreign entity to buy Australian farmland,” Tehan said.
Nationals MP Sam Birrell backed the bill, saying that the Rushy Lagoon deal set a troubling precedent for using taxpayer money to help foreign buyers outcompete local farmers for agricultural land.
“The Australian taxpayer helped finance the destruction of an Australian regional industry,” he said.
“It means there’s less Australian food security, less Australian food sovereignty, less economic activity for regional jobs in regional communities and fewer export dollars.”
The bill was adjourned to the next parliamentary sitting. No Labor members spoke on the floor.
CEFC Defends $69 Million Investment
Meanwhile, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has defended its $69 million investment in the Rushy Lagoon property.
According to the organisation, the project with CEFC funding would use less productive farmland for commercial softwood plantations while also supporting conservation and environmental restoration.
“It is a demonstration of the power of institutional capital to drive economic development for regional communities while also supporting decarbonisation and positive environmental outcomes.”
