Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says a new farm register shows a "substantial amount" of Australian agricultural land is foreign owned, but the Treasurer has downplayed figures.
The Federal Government's long-awaited farm register reveals investors from the United Kingdom easily have the biggest stake in foreign-owned farmland in Australia.
The register, compiled by the Australian Tax Office, shows 13.6 per cent of Australia's farmland is foreign-owned.
UK-based investors own 27.5 million hectares or almost 53 per cent of that portion and less than 0.5 per cent of total agricultural land is held by Chinese investors.
The United Kingdom has emerged as the biggest owner of agricultural land and China is fifth behind the US, Netherlands and Singapore.
Mr Morrison stressed that about 85 per cent of farmland remains in Australian hands and less than half a per cent is owned by Chinese interests.
The biggest sale of agricultural land he's ever approved was to Dutch and Canadian interests.
The treasurer used the report's release to warn against the rise of protectionist sentiment, saying foreign investment was important and Australia could not put its economic future at risk by engaging in protectionism.
"It helps us to make the case because around the world today - and there are elements of this here in Australia - there is a longing to perhaps ... to pull the head under the doona," he told Sky News.
But Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who's long fought for the register's creation, has stressed how big the level of foreign ownership is.
He pointed to data showing just over 52 million hectares is foreign owned - more than twice the size of Victoria.
"We have a duty as a politicians first and foremost to make sure the greatest beneficiary of the Australian assets is the Australian people."
Top countries that own the most agricultural land by size:
1. United Kingdom
2. United States
3. Netherlands
4. Singapore
5. China
6. Philippines
7. Switzerland
8. Jersey
9. Indonesia
10. Japan
