'Certainty' still there for the big landholders
By Chris Spindler
Confidence in the value and profitability of land clearly remains strong in the eyes of big property holders, despite claims from the National Farmers Federation and the federal government about the Wik decision.
The talk of "uncertainty" is designed to undermine legitimate native title claims. If the federal government's 10-point plan is passed, it will be a big bonus for the leaseholders, increasing the value of their land at the expense of Aboriginal land rights.
Stanbroke Pastoral Company purchased $65 million worth of land and cattle in the last year, making it the biggest single land-holder and beef producer in the world. Stanbroke, owned by AMP, owns 12.69 million hectares (half the size of Victoria) and around half a million head of cattle.
Most of the big land-holders increased the size of their holdings. All of the same names appear as in other sectors of the economy.
Elders-owned Australian Agricultural Company is vying for top position. Kerry Packer's Consolidated Pastoral Company is the third biggest beef producer.
Janet Holmes àCourt's Heytesbury Beef off-loaded property to fund its expanding feedlot operation throughout south-east Asia. Other familiar companies are still there — National Mutual, Kidman and Co, Prudential and Lloyd Walker.
The largest private land-holder, Hugh MacLachlan, has increased his holdings to more than 5 million hectares. His cousin, defence minister and former National Farmers Federation president Ian McLachlan, also has significant land holdings.
Australian Democrats Senator Meg Lees has called for ministers with vested interests to remove themselves from the Wik debate.
Not a great deal of uncertainty here! In fact, the top 10 seem very certain. They collectively control 57.47 million hectares, or 7.4% of Australia's land area. They own 8.3% of the beef herd and 1.3% of the country's sheep.
Obscene expansion of the top land-holders is only half the story. Some 15,000 small land-holders have left the land in the last 10 years.
One per cent of small land-holders leave each year, encouraging a decline in small rural centres and giving the government and corporations such as the banks incentives to pull their services out.
The Liberal-National government's recent rural package was never aimed at alleviating any of the economic pain of the rural work force, including small and family farmers. It is an inexpensive cop-out while encouraging the continued centralisation of the export-driven agricultural sector.