TOP TEN PASTORAL LANDHOLDERS
Company/Individual | Country | Million ha. | ||
1. | AMP Stanbroke Pastoral Co. | (Australian) | 12.69 | |
2. | S. Kidman & Co. | (Australian) | 11.63 | |
3. | Australian Agriculture Co. | (Australian, owned by Elders) | 6.51 | |
4. | North Australian Pastoral Co. | (Foster family of Tasmania) | 5.71 | |
5. | Hugh MacLachlan | (Cousin of Defence Minister Ian MacLachlan) | 5.3 | |
6. | Consolidated Pastoral Co. | (Kerry Packer) | 4.83 | |
7. | Heytesbury Pastoral Co. | (Janet Holmes a Court) | 3.63 | |
8. | McDonald family | (National Party federal president Don & family) | 3.08 | |
9. | Brian Oxenford | (Australian private cattle producer) | 2.33 | |
10. | Prudential Pastoral Co. | (UK controlled) | 2.0 | |
FOREIGN OWNED
PASTORAL COMPANIES
(Together, land holdings are bigger than Tasmania) |
||||
Ranked by enterprise size | Country | Hectares | ||
1. | National Mutual:AXA | France | 806,876 | |
2. | Twynam Pastoral Co.: John Kahlbetzer | Argentina | 383,507 | |
3. | Prudential Pastoral Co. | UK | 2,016,290 | |
4. | Clyde Agriculture: John Swire & Sons | UK | 592,109 | |
5. | Auscott: Boswell Co | USA | 21,300 | |
6. | Desa International: DKP Sabah | Malaysia | 904,680 | |
7. | Tipperary: Bakire Bros. | Indonesia | 1,882,300 | |
8. | Tasman Agriculture | NZ | 23,867 | |
9. | Western Development/Carabao: Sultan of Brunei | Brunei | 599,100 | |
10. | Raymond St John | USA | 375,100 | |
11. | Shipfield Pastoral Co: George Ishiyarna | USA | 287,593 | |
12. | Gregory Hadjieleftheriadis | Greece | 62,250 |
(sourced from The Australian)
Other countries are being allowed to use and abuse our
land. Why is the government protecting their rights over ours? What
legal standing, as mere lease holders, do these people have in our Australian
courts? How can they make a native title non claimant application, as a
foreign citizen? And what does the tax-payer of this country get out of
it? The Australian tax-payer would be far better off co-existing with Aboriginal
people as the rightful custodians of the land, as they are the true owners,
who never willingly gave the land away. All they could do, was sit back
and watch the destruction of their heritage. And how much tax do these
foreigners pay, for the merciless exploitation of this country?
When Governor Fitmoy set aside Crown land in 1847, he gave graziers
the right to lease land, solely for the use of the grass grazing; and to
Aboriginal people for hunting, and the usufructuary right to the 'spontaneous
growth of the soil'. Wran, back in 1972, needed a way to put the NSW Land
Rights Act (1983) into place, without damaging relationships between white
Australian and Aboriginal people, and he left intact the spirit of the
legislation, that Governor Fitzroy had put into place in 1847.
So I don't see how the government of today or any other day have the
legal right to go over and above a piece of legislation that has worked
since 1847.
The pastoralists of today didn't even know that co-existence existed
before the Wik decision, and that they were grazing on land that Aboriginal
people already had the legislative right to use. So why are they jumping
up and down now? It has to be what Noel Pearson said, the Coalition are
racist scum because they refuse to recognise Aboriginal rights that have
been legislated since 1847.
All they need to do, is to get rid of the Racial Discrimination Act
to show their true colours nationally and internationally.
Australian lease holders are squealing now about co-existence with
Aboriginal people. Why aren't they complaining about co-existing with foreign
lease holders, who are leasing this land for a pittance, and taking billions
out of Australia? Only the Nationals and the Liberals would even contemplate
sweeping this under the carpet, for their own secret agenda.
And if Aboriginal people get to share the riches that are still left
in this country, what is wrong with that? because it's only been 125 years
since they took all the riches from the Bundjalung Nation timber, minerals
and the sea.
This was done bare-facedly, in this district by successive NSW Crown Land
Commissioners Oakes, Fry and MacDonald, from 1839 onwards, using the Border
and Native Mounted Police to track down, massacre, poison and murder the
rightful owners of the Bundjalung Nation; from Port Macquarie to Moreton
Bay and inland to Glenn Innes, with the blatant aim of dispersing us from
our land, for the benefit of Crown Land leaseholder.
And this is the story for Aboriginal people and leasehold land right
across Australia today.
It has been reported that the Wik 10 Point Plan means that the Australian
tax-payer will face the hugest compensation bill this country has ever
seen. How much, if anything will these foreign interests holding Australian
pastoral leases have to kick in, of the compensation bill?
The leasing of vast tracts of Australian land to overseas individuals from
France, England, Argentina, Malaysia, Indonesia, NZ, Brunei, the US and
Greece, for a start says other countries have power and control over the
top native title claims of Australian indigenous people who are citizens
of this land.
These foreign lease holders are not even citizens of Australia, but they
control pastoral leases of millions of acres. What benefit is it for any
Australian for these overseas individuals to fatten cattle in this country
and ship them elsewhere?
None of these pastoral leases have been officially or legally explored
for their mineral resources.
John Roberts, Elder, Widjabul
Tribe,
Bundjalunging