A crackdown on dodgy foreign investors secretly buying up Australian houses will be boosted by a public tip off line to help catch law-breakers. The federal government will launch a new platform to ensure foreign investors purchasing residential real estate in Australia are complying with rules, which from January 1 include tougher penalties. Prior to COVID, foreign spending on Australian real estate had increased significantly in the past decade with overseas investors splashing $7.2bn on housing in 2018-19, including $2.8bn in NSW alone. About 80 per cent of the 9295 residential properties bought by foreign investors nationally in 2018-19 were valued under $1m at the time, according to the latest Foreign Investment Review Board figures. Chinese investment accounted for about a quarter of all overseas commercial and residential real estate investment.
Wall Street Journal| 19 April 2016
Livestock agents sell cattle to farmers at a weekly livestock sale near the town of Carcoar, New South Wales, Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Australia cattle empire S Kidman approves sale to China-led group
by Rob Taylor
Australia’s largest pastoral cattle empire, S. Kidman and Co., has agreed to be sold to a Chinese-led consortium for 370.7 million Australian dollars (US$287.3 million), continuing a flurry of deals in the country’s agricultural sector.
The board of the century-old Kidman empire which covers an area larger than Ireland agreed to sell its holdings to China-based Dakang Australia Holdings and Australian Rural Capital Ltd. An earlier proposed deal was rejected by the government last year.
Dick buys AAco shares to get in debate
MATTHEW CRANSTON, AFR
OUTSPOKEN entrepreneur and aviator Dick Smith has bought $1 million worth of shares in Australian Agricultural Co (AAco) - Australia s second-largest landholder - because he doesn t want to sound hypocritical when he campaigns against foreign ownership of farms. I am concerned about foreigners buying all our good agricultural land, he told the
Australian Financial Review, and so I thought I had better own some of this land so I can talk about this issue.
Mr Smith, whose comments came after the federal government recently pledged to create a national register for foreign ownership of farms, is now one of the largest shareholders in AAco, which owns about 7 million hectares of prime pastoral land.
China Australia relations: 41 Chinese-owned Australian wineries and vineyards on boycott list weeklytimesnow.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from weeklytimesnow.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Australian grazing families making record property purchases as Chinese investment declines
FriFriday 18
Several grazing properties have sold for record prices to Australian families this year.
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A combination of skyrocketing cattle prices and sustained low interest rates have been credited for a series of record-breaking property purchases in northern Australia this year.
Key points:
A number of grazing land sales in northern Australia have broken records this year
Rural property valuer Roger Hill says a combination of high cattle prices and low interest rates are driving the investment
Chinese investment in rural properties has been declining due to foreign investment law changes