The concentration on the cattle aspect of the ban, misses other...

The concentration on the cattle aspect of the ban, misses other longer term aspects.

One big one is that once a precedent is set, security is lost. Think of it this way. If Labor were in power now, would you invest heavily in any industry, especially a livestock one, knowing that the government might pull the pin overnight at the whim of a greenie who got 1% of the vote?


You could borrow a few million to set up some business and history shows that for purely political reasons the government might shut you down the next day. Would you take the risk? There are already massive risks in big new investments. It follows that foreign corporations are the only ones who can afford such risks. After all, the Indonesians have been buying millions of northern Australian acres since the ban. The ban did not stop the trade which is flourishing, it just shifted control outside Australia.

Fortunately the real Australians are intrepid investors. But it was interesting to see a Land Line program a few days ago which showed a massive NT cattle investment being backed by a billionaire who lives in Singapore and sells bras 'n things.