The fact that the Victorian Supreme Court has allowed the sale of the Van Diemen’s Land Company to go ahead to another overseas buyer is disappointing news and shows, now more than ever, that the Federal Government must intervene.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to finally bring the largest dairy asset in the country into Australian ownership. To have the Van Diemen’s Land Company in the hands of an Australian consortium committed to producing premium branded dairy products would have enormous benefits for our agriculture and tourism sectors and would further Australia’s potential to be a global leader in premium food production.
The public also want to see strategic assets, whether they be economic or military, in the hands of Australians and the response that I’ve received since I first raised this issue has been almost universally supportive. This is not about taking back VDL or about any particular country owning it – it’s about finally claiming a strategic asset which has never been Australian-owned and the opportunities that this would present.
The Government doesn’t have to leave the matter to the courts or to the Foreign Investment Review Board – it can intervene straight away to stop this sale to the likely foreign buyer. We know that it can and will intervene in matters of foreign acquisition such as when it stopped the sale of the Kidman cattle empire to a foreign buyer. The fact that it has consistently refused to do so in this case shows an alarming lack of interest in, and understanding of, the challenges that Australia and Tasmania face.
Independent Member for Denison Andrew Wilkie
