COALITION MOVES TO STOP TAXPAYER-BACKED CARBON LAND GRAB

The Coalition will move to stop taxpayer money being used to help investment funds acquire Australian agricultural land for carbon projects, and scrap Labor’s Net Zero laws that are making Australians poorer.

The move would prohibit the Clean Energy Finance Corporation from providing funding or financial assistance to entities acquiring agricultural land for the purpose of establishing tree plantations to generate carbon offsets.

The Coalition will also introduce legislation to abolish Labor’s Net Zero, Labor’s toxic carbon taxes and end the Government’s more than $80 billion Net Zero spending spree.

The announcement follows the controversial sale of Tasmania’s 21,745-hectare Rushy Lagoon property to UK investment firm Gresham House. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation is investing $69 million in the project, with around 9,000 hectares planned for pine plantations.

Federal Member for Dawson, Andrew Willcox, said the Federal Government should be backing Australian farmers and protecting productive land, rather than using taxpayer money to compete with them.

“We have farmers across Dawson working incredibly hard to put food on Australian tables, yet Labor is prepared to help foreign investment funds acquire Australian land for carbon projects.

“The question for regional Australians is simple, what comes next?

“Is the next casualty the iconic Bowen Mango plantations? The sugar industry? The vegetables grown around Bowen, Gumlu and the Burdekin?

“Farmers are already dealing with rising input costs, red tape, weather risks and uncertainty. The last thing they need is their own government helping investment funds compete for agricultural land.”

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said Australia’s food security should come before taxpayer-backed carbon schemes that take productive farmland out of agriculture.

“Families are already paying too much at the supermarket and the last thing we should be doing is weakening our ability to grow food by turning productive farms into carbon assets,” Mr Taylor said.

“It is extraordinary that taxpayers are being asked to help investment funds outbid farmers for Australian farmland.

“We support practical action to reduce emissions, but it should not come at the expense of our farmers, our food security and the future of regional communities.”

Leader of The Nationals Matt Canavan said Labor’s net zero obsession was driving up power prices, increasing inflation and shutting down Australian industry.

"At the heart of Labor's net zero transition is a transfer of Australian jobs overseas and a transfer of wealth from Australian families to multinational companies living off taxpayer subsidies,” Senator Canavan said.

"Under Labor’s net zero ideology, prime Australian agricultural land that should be growing food for Australians is being locked up to grow weeds and breed pests.

“The Liberals and Nationals will repeal Labor's failed net zero laws and stop taxpayer money being used to buy up the farms that feed us.”

Mr Willcox said the Government’s approach to agriculture was also at odds with its own ambitions for Australia’s biofuels industry.

“Labor is now telling us that sugar and other agricultural products can provide the feedstocks for a new Australian bioenergy industry, but you cannot build a biofuels industry without the farmers who grow the feedstock.

“You cannot tell a cane farmer to produce more, while making it harder to use the land needed to grow the crop.

“If we want a future in biofuels, we need a future for Australian agriculture first.”

Mr Willcox said recent changes to agricultural land-clearing rules had added to uncertainty for Queensland farmers.

“Farmers in Dawson should not have to wonder whether they will be able to keep producing on their own land.

“We have already seen new Commonwealth approval requirements affect agricultural land clearing, creating another layer of uncertainty for farmers.”

He added that the Coalition’s proposed legislation would ensure taxpayers were not used to distort the agricultural land market.

“Australia has some of the best farmers in the world. We should be giving them every opportunity to produce more, invest more and pass their farms on to the next generation.

“The Coalition will stand with our farmers, protect our food security and make sure Australian land is working for Australian families, Australian agriculture and Australia’s future.”

ENDS

Contact: Amanda Wright | Media & Communications Adviser
P | 07 4944 0662   M | 0455 456 705   E | Amanda.Wright@aph.gov.au