Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Sherry, the Minister representing the Assistant Treasurer. I refer the minister to the comments made by the Assistant Treasurer, Mr Shorten, on foreign investment in Australia’s agricultural sector. Can the minister please describe whether the government has defined what is meant by ‘prime agricultural land’ in regard to foreign investment in Australia’s farming sector?

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting on Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator, for your question. It might perhaps have been useful if you had referred to the detail of the comments of Minister Shorten. I assume you are referring to his comments acknowledging the need to improve transparency regarding the investment in and purchase of land—that is in the generality; that is not a direct quote from me. I assume that is your general reference.

Firstly, I would make the very obvious point that this government welcomes foreign investment. It has helped build Australia’s economy. In fact, I think that, for all but one year of just over 200 years of European settlement, we have been net foreign investors.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. The point of order goes to direct relevance. The minister was asked whether the government has a definition of a term—‘prime agricultural land’—for the purposes of foreign investment in agriculture. The minister has not addressed that issue either directly or indirectly. Perhaps he does not know. But if he does not address the issue, you should sit him down.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am listening closely to the minister’s answer. I believe the minister is developing an answer. The minister has 47 seconds remaining. I draw the minister’s attention to the question.

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting on Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The reference to the comments of my colleague the Assistant Treasurer was extraordinarily general, so general that I am not sure which specific comments the senator is referring to, but I gather that the context of the question is foreign investment in agricultural land, including prime agricultural land in Australia.

As I was saying, foreign investment is important. This includes in our agricultural sector and in the context of the ownership of farmland in this country. In fact, I am aware in the generality that the vast— (Time expired)

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He went all around the question and never even got close to answering it. Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Has the government rejected any of the $5.3 billion of foreign investment in Australia’s agricultural sector that has been notified to the Foreign Investment Review Board during the life of this government?

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting on Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, in case Senator Joyce is not aware, the rules for investment approval for what Senator Joyce has referred to as agricultural land under this government were the same as under his government. They were the same rules that applied for the almost 12 years—

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. You did not direct him to be relevant in the first one and he never answered the question. He is now continuing to be completely irrelevant to the question that was asked. Can you please direct him to the question.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As you know, I cannot direct a minister in how to answer the question.

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting on Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am well aware that the rules for approval in investment in this area under this government are the same as those that existed under the previous government. I am aware of the divisions—indeed, the split—in the opposition over issues of foreign investment given the recent—

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order that once more goes to relevance. He either is or is not aware; the answer is either yes or no. He has three seconds left. In three seconds he should be able to get yes or no out.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the point of order: Minister Sherry has been answering the question. Minister Sherry has been relevant to the question being asked. Specifically in relation to this point of order, it is not appropriate for a questioner to then use the point of order to encourage the senator to answer yes or no. It is completely outside of the question that was asked to then suggest the response be yes or no. The minister is answering the question in the way that the minister is able to provide information to the Senate, and trying to frame it in a point of order by asking the minister to answer yes or no is completely inappropriate.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have already said that in question time I cannot instruct the minister how to answer the question. I cannot instruct the minister and put words into a minister’s mouth, but I can draw to a minister’s attention—

Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You can sit him down if he’s not answering the question.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not need assistance, thank you.

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting on Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In terms of the figure— (Time expired)

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He had a 50 per cent chance of getting the right answer and he could not even get that right. Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Since this government has a plan to shut down Australia’s food bowl in the Murray-Darling Basin, how can we trust that same government to take action in response to the growing ownership of our agricultural sector by foreign governments? What is the government’s plan to secure Australia’s most strategic asset: its ability to feed itself in all sections of a balanced diet?

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting on Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In terms of the precise figure that you used in the first supplementary—which, unfortunately, I could not fully answer due to the constant interruptions—I will take it on notice and check whether that is accurate or not. In terms of the number of farming agricultural property project investments that have been approved under this government and, indeed, under the previous government—in its almost 12 years they had the same set of rules—I will have to take it on notice to obtain the number. What I can say is that, since white settlement in Australia, the vast majority of foreign investment in this area has come—for very obvious reasons—from the United Kingdom and then the United States. (Time expired)