When the Minister for Trade and Investment, Andrew Robb, delivers his annual investment statement to Parliament today he must explain why the Abbott Government is acting to deter foreign investment from Australia.
Mr Robb also needs to explain why the Government is discriminating against investors from China, Japan and Korea under its new investment barriers.
The Abbott Government is slugging would-be investors with onerous and discriminatory new investment screening rules, layers of red tape, and $735 million in new charges and fees.
These policies not only deter new investments in Australia they have already created impediments to existing businesses which want to expand their operations.
The National Farmers Federation has estimated that Australias farm sector needs more than $1 trillion in new investment by 2035 if it is to take advantage of the tremendous export opportunities in our region.
Yet the Abbott Government cut the Foreign Investment Review Board screening threshold for investments in agricultural land to $15 million from March this year.
Adding to the complexity, the new screening threshold discriminates against investors based on their nationality.
Investors from China, Japan and Korea are subject to the $15 million threshold, while investors from Singapore and Thailand face a $50 million threshold and those from the United States, New Zealand and Chile enjoy a $1 billion-plus threshold.
The Government is also planning to introduce new barriers to foreign investment in Australias agribusiness sector.
From December this year, the FIRB screening threshold for agribusiness investments will be cut to $55 million and new fees will be imposed on investors lodging applications with FIRB.
These charges will amount to $735 million over the forward estimates, making Australia one of the few countries in the world which effectively imposes a tax on inward investment.
The challenge for Mr Robb is to explain how these retrograde changes which have been widely criticised by Australian business organisations will do anything other than deter future foreign investment in Australia.
