22nd Feb 2016, 4:25 PM – Senate Motions - Foreign Investment - Van Diemen's Land Company

The majority voted against a motion intreduced by Independent Senator Nick Xenophon (SA), with Independent Senator John Madigan (Vic) and Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson (Tas) as co-sponsors. This means that the motion was unsuccessful.

The motion related to the proposed sale of the Van Diemen's Land Company to a foreign owned company.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) the proposed sale of Australasia's largest and most productive dairy farm holding, Van Diemen's Land Company, to Moon Lake Investments, is currently before the Foreign Investment Review Board,

(ii) the critical importance of Van Diemen's Land Company to Australia for food security and our international reputation as a high quality dairy product producer,

(iii) the significant environmental importance of the Van Diemen's Land property with its remnant vegetation, refuge to the last disease-free population of Tasmanian devil in the area and habitat to rare, threatened and endangered native fauna and flora species, and

(iv) the opportunity for this iconic and strategically-important agricultural and natural asset to be brought into Australian ownership for the first time; and

(b) calls on the Government to consider:

(i) the potential economic, social and environmental benefits that may flow from a viable alternative Australian-based bid for Van Diemen's Land Company when considering the Moon Lake Investments proposal, and

(ii) the following as part of a national interest test when examining the proposed sale of Van Diemen's Land Company to Moon Lake Investments:

(A) the potential for transfer pricing, including any potential loss of revenue to the Commonwealth,

(B) commitments to the local workforce in terms of the business plan being proposed, and

(C) any expansion plans of the overseas bid compared to the local bid.