Lin Thorp voted very strongly against restricting foreign ownership

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Democratic Labor Party Senator John Madigan. This means that the motion was rejected. The motion was:

That the Senate-

(a) notes that:

(i) in 2010 the Australian Bureau of Statistics published the Agricultural Land and Water Ownership survey (December 2010), which indicated that 11.3 per cent of Australian agricultural land was foreign-owned,

(ii) according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Vote Compass, a significant majority of Australians want to 'further restrict foreign ownership of Australian agricultural land', and(Explore the ABC's Vote Compass, including the data on whether the government should restrict foreign ownership of Australian agricultural land, here.)

(iii) Australian agricultural land is a national treasure and should not be treated as a global commodity; and

(b) calls on the Government to table, no later than the first sitting day of 2013, an updated Agricultural Land and Water Ownership survey, outlining foreign ownership of Australian agricultural land as at June 2013.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Rachel Siewert. This means that the motion was unsuccessful.

The motion was that:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that Archer Daniels Midland's proposed acquisition of GrainCorp will reduce competition in the wheat exporting market and hurt Australian growers; and

(b) calls on the Treasurer ( Mr Hockey) to reject the takeover bid of GrainCorp by Archer Daniels Midland.(Read more about the concerns surrounding Archer Daniels Midland's bid for GrainCorp on The World Today here. Read more about the opposition to the deal within the Coalition on ABC Rural here.)

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. This means that the motion was rejected.

The motion was:

That the Senate calls on the Government to:

(a) halt the sale of Cubbie Station;(Read more about the sale of Cubbie Station here)

(b) release the written advice provided by the Foreign Investment Review Board to the Treasurer ( Mr Swan) regarding the proposed sale of Cubbie Station announced on Friday, 31 August 2012; and

(c) complete and release a national audit of foreign ownership of water entitlements.

References

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Liberal Senator Helen Kroger, which means that it was successful.

The motion was about the sale of Cubbie Station to a foreign-owned company and an Australia-owned company. The sale was controversial because it gave the foreign-owned company 80% initial ownership and, as explained by Senator Kroger, the Station is "one of Australia's most valuable irrigation properties, with a water licence equal to 6 per cent of the water use in the northern Murray-Darling Basin"

Wording of the motion

That the Senate:

(a)   notes that:

(i)   there is bipartisan support for foreign investment, provided that the particular foreign investment is not contrary to the national interest,

(ii)   the Treasurer ( Mr Swan) has approved the potential sale of Cubbie Station to a consortium 80 per cent owned by Shandong RuYi Scientific and Technological Group Co Ltd,

(iii)   the Treasurer has failed to explain why the potential sale to a majority foreign-owned consortium of one of Australia's most valuable irrigation properties, with a water licence equal to 6 per cent of the water use in the northern Murray-Darling Basin, is not contrary to the national interest, and

(iv)   Annex II of the Treasurer's own policy on foreign investment requires him to consider the effect of the proposal on:

(A)   the quality and availability of Australia's agricultural resources, including water,

(B)   land access and use,

(C)   agricultural production and productivity,

(D)   Australia's capacity to remain a reliable supplier of agricultural production both to the Australian community and our trading partners,

(E)    biodiversity, and

(F)   employment and prosperity in Australia's local and regional communities;

(b)   calls on the Treasurer to provide a statement detailing:

(i)   how the Treasurer determined the ownership and control of the consortium, particularly in the context of the national interest,

(ii)   why the Treasurer did not publish an interim order to extend the period of consideration by 90 days as required by Australia's Foreign Investment Policy, and

(iii)   why the sale is not contrary to the national interest and release the advice to the Treasurer from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and associated documents, including what, if any, other options were considered; and

(c)   calls on the Government to ensure that foreign investment transactions are transparent by:

(i)   establishing a publicly available national register of all foreign acquisitions of Australian agricultural land,

(ii)   reducing the financial threshold for FIRB examination of foreign acquisitions of Australian agricultural land, and

(iii)   ensuring that at least one member of FIRB has experience in agricultural management.