Australia’s peak dairy farmer representative body says Tasmania has seized an opportunity to investigate concerns about the impact government policies and investment settings can have on agricultural land markets.
Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) has welcomed the Tasmanian Government’s announcement that it would establish a parliamentary inquiry into the sale of Rushy Lagoon, including the influence of Commonwealth funding, the conversion of agricultural land to carbon sequestration and the transparency of the sale process.
ADF President Ben Bennett said the inquiry was an important opportunity to look beyond one property and examine the broader consequences of government policies that could distort agricultural land markets.
“Rushy Lagoon raises serious questions about what happens when taxpayer-backed investment and carbon incentives compete directly with farmers for productive agricultural land,” Mr Bennett said.
“This is not an argument against forestry, carbon projects or private investment. It is about making sure government intervention does not artificially impact land values or give one type of land use an advantage over food production.”
The 22,000-hectare property has been purchased by the UK-based Tasmania Natural Asset Trust, with approximately $69 million of investment from the Commonwealth-owned Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Around 9,000 hectares is proposed for plantation forestry, while the purchaser says agricultural production will continue on other parts of the property.
ADF joins TasFarmers in warning the deal will lead to prime agricultural land being wasted.
TasFarmers chief operating officer Neil Grose said Rushy Lagoon had been producing food and fibre since the 1950s.
“Tasmanian farmland is here to grow food, it’s here to grow fibre,” Mr Grose told The Weekly Times.
“It’s grown beautiful, superfine wool, it’s grown beautiful beef, it’s produced magnificent dairy products.”
“We cannot allow food security and prime agricultural land at Rushy Lagoon to be compromised by broad-scale carbon farming.”
ADF said those concerns should also be considered alongside wider changes affecting investment in Australian farmland.
“Farmers looking to expand their businesses or young farmers trying to enter the industry should not have to compete against the taxpayer land values being driven by huge corporate investment or carbon returns,” Mr Bennett said.
“This can flow through to the price of neighbouring farmland and fundamentally change who can afford to own and operate farms.”
Mr Bennett said the inquiry should provide greater transparency around the Rushy Lagoon decision and help governments develop better safeguards nationally.
“Productive agricultural land is a finite national asset. Decisions affecting its ownership, value and future use need to consider food security, regional communities and Australia’s long-term agricultural production capacity.”
“Rushy Lagoon should be the opportunity to properly examine those issues.”