The sale of Tasmania’s largest farm to a UK investment firm will be probed by a state parliamentary committee.
Rushy Lagoon, a 21,745-hectare property in the state’s north-east was sold to Gresham House after the sale was vetted by the Foreign Investment Review Board and approved by federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers last month.
Gresham House plans to plant about 12 million radiata pine seedlings across 9,000 hectares of the farm over the next five years, with funding assistance from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
It is also considering cropping and leasing out parts of the farm for grazing, tourism and mountain biking.
There has been community outcry about the sale, mainly over the pine plantation plans.
Gresham House plans to plant about 12 million radiata pine seedlings across the farm over the next five years. (ABC News: Mitchell Woolnough)
Advocacy body TasFarmers described Mr Chalmers’ decision as a “betrayal of Tasmanian agriculture”.
The Tasmanian government has been vocal in its opposition to the sale and proposed the parliamentary inquiry.
Primary Industries Minister Gavin Pearce told parliament yesterday that significant questions remained, including whether federal government policies were “inadvertently favouring carbon credit outcomes over ongoing fibre and food production”.
The state government has said federal funding for the plantation project, including through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Carbon Credit Unit Scheme, meant taxpayer money was used to help Gresham House outbid Australian farmers for the property.
Mr Pearce said the inquiry was “not about relegating a decision”.
“It’s about transparency, it’s about accountability, it’s about ensuring that Tasmania’s interests are properly considered in the future,”
he said.
Gavin Pearce says the inquiry is about ensuring transparency and accountability over the sale. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)
With four independent MPs David O’Byrne, George Razay, Craig Garland and Carlo Di Falco voting with the government to establish the inquiry, it had enough support to pass.
Mr O’Byrne told parliament every inquiry had a level of politics about it, but he said if done well, the inquiry could be important for the community affected by the sale.
“At the end of the day no-one can doubt that there is significant community concern and we have a responsibility as legislators, as parliamentarians, as representatives of our community to work through a process to inform our community,” he said.
Mr O’Byrne also said farming communities “across the country” were looking at the Rushy Lagoon sale.
Neither Labor nor the Greens supported the motion for the inquiry.
Shane Broad says the inquiry is a “witch hunt” which “won’t change a thing”. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)
Labor’s resources spokesperson Shane Broad said the inquiry was “a complete farce”.
“The property [sale] settled on Friday, they can’t change the outcome,” Mr Broad said.
“Regardless of what people think of the sale, the witch hunt committee the Liberals want to set up will have no power to call federal officials and won’t change a thing.“
Greens primary industries spokesperson Tabatha Badger said while she acknowledged there was significant concern about the sale, and the Greens also had questions, a federal parliamentary inquiry would be more appropriate.
