The Tasmanian government will push to set up a parliamentary select committee to scrutinise the controversial sale of Rushy Lagoon, one of the state’s largest and most prominent farming properties.
The property near Cape Portland spans more than 21,000 hectares and was sold to the Tasmanian Natural Asset Trust, managed by UK firm Gresham House, in a deal worth more than $100 million approved by Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff today said the committee would examine the role of Commonwealth funding in the sale, whether that funding helped convert productive farmland to carbon sequestration and the transparency of the process.
“Rushy Lagoon has long been recognised as one of Tasmania’s premier agricultural enterprises, supporting jobs, regional economic activity and food production,” Rockliff said.
“There is genuine community concern about the implications of this sale, how it happened and what it means for productive agricultural land across our State.”
Primary Industries and Water Minister Gavin Pearce said around $70 million in federal funding through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation had given the foreign buyer an unfair advantage over local farmers who wanted to purchase the property.
“How then is that any way fair to those farmers that wanted to continue those agricultural pursuits on that great piece of land?” Pearce said.
He called on Labor to back the inquiry rather than “keep running protection for their overlords in Canberra.”
TasFarmers Chief Operating Officer Neil Grose said the organisation was “absolutely supportive” of the committee and would provide evidence and raise questions throughout the process.
“Tasmanian agricultural land is one of the most precious resources on the planet,” Grose said.
“We can’t be giving away good, productive Tasmanian farmland for the sake of growing carbon credits.”
A TasFarmers survey found 99% of respondents opposed the sale.
Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins has ruled out intervening, saying the sale was a private land transaction.
She previously acknowledged she held veto power over carbon credits linked to the forestry plans but indicated the process had already been completed.
Deputy state Labor leader Janie Finlay said she had only just heard about the committee proposal and had not seen any terms of reference.
“We’ll be making our decisions in the caucus, but we understand the importance of understanding particularly the jobs and the value add processing,” Finlay said.
The Tasmanian Natural Asset Trust said it welcomed the opportunity to explain its investment.
Spokesperson Jonathan Craven said the project was “a long-term investment that seeks to maximise the property’s environmental and economic potential through climate positive sustainable land management, softwood plantations and ongoing grazing and cropping.”
He said plantation softwood would be harvested and processed in Tasmania, supporting local jobs and helping meet demand for timber to build new homes.
Parliament returns for a two-week sitting block this week.
