Tony Abbott’s claims that Australia is open for business and his Government is committed to reducing red tape have been exposed as lacking all credibility.
Today at the National Press Club Tony Abbott moved to shore up his own job at the expense of jobs in regional Australia by promising to constrain critical foreign investment in Australia’s agricultural industries.
Tony Abbott confirmed his plan to put significant new red tape in the way of proposed foreign investment in Australia’s farming and food processing industries.
Exporting Australian food products to the fast-growing economies of Asian is a major source of potential future growth for our nation and for our farmers and regional communities.
Australia needs to promote and attract – not to discourage and deter – new investment in our farming, food processing and agri-business sectors so they can expand to take advantage of these opportunities.
Yet Tony Abbott is determined to reduce the threshold for Foreign Investment Review Board screening of proposed new investment in agricultural land and agribusiness.
Our agriculture sector will need significant foreign investment in future years to capitalise on the opportunities presented in Asia.
Yet Tony Abbott through his free trade agreements is now also developing a discriminatory foreign investment regime for agriculture where American investors, for example, have one threshold before they have to go to the FIRB while Asian nations have a different threshold.
Tony Abbott’s lack of strategic vision will act as a barrier to the inward investment we need to generate the growth and job opportunities of the future.
It is yet another example of Tony Abbott looking to his own political interests rather than looking to the nation’s interests.
MONDAY, 2 FEBRUARY 2015
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE
SENATOR THE HON PENNY WONG
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE SENATE
SHADOW MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INVESTMENT
LABOR SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA
THE HON JOEL FITZGIBBON MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE
SHADOW MINISTER FOR RURAL AFFAIRS
SPOKESPERSON FOR COUNTRY CAUCUS
MEMBER FOR HUNTER
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