Prime Minister Tony Abbott might not want a foreign takeover of Australia's largest agribusiness but his views have no bearing over any approval or rejection of the bid.
Treasurer Joe Hockey needs to make a decision about the $3.4 billion bid by US food giant Archer Daniels Midlands for GrainCorp by December 17.
Under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act, it is the treasurer's decision alone to approve or reject the ADM bid.
The law specifies that if Mr Hockey prohibits the takeover he needs to be satisfied it is contrary to the national interest.
The treasurer is on the record as saying he will not be bullied or intimidated by "anyone" into making a decision one way or the other.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Coalition figures say Mr Abbott is inclined to say no to the purchase or make conditions so onerous as to make it unviable, The West Australian said on Friday.
The takeover is being opposed by The Nationals, some rural Liberals and eastern wheat-belt growers.
But WA Liberal senator Dean Smith, like others in the nation's biggest wheat-growing state, is backing the ADM bid.
"This deal ... ticks a lot of boxes for the 21st century," he told parliament on Thursday.
Australia was a big exporting country and needed the "absolute best infrastructure" and best global connectivity.
"We need competition - this is the absolute imperative that underscores everything," he said.
Labor says the coalition's internal warfare on foreign investment is sending the wrong message to business overseas looking to invest in Australia.
"This is a big test for the treasurer - will he be bullied by the prime minister and (nationals leader) Warren Truss, or will he stand by his commitment that Australia is open for business," opposition leader Bill Shorten and shadow treasurer Chris Bowen say in a joint statement.
Senator Smith said debate about foreign investment should not be used as a Trojan horse by those seeking to reverse the benefits of deregulating the wheat export market.
He rejected claims by opponents of the sale that GrainCorp operated a grains handling and export monopoly on the east coast.
"This is simply wrong," he said.
More than half of the east-coast harvest bypassed GrainCorp's export supply chain while there was a score of export buyers, and its bulk port facilities had four competitors.
As well, the $40-60 million investment ADM was committed to was far larger than GrainCorp could make, Senator Smith said.
GrainCorp and ADM executives are expected to appear before a resumed Senate inquiry into the takeover.
Liberal senator Bill Heffernan has vowed to ask "difficult" questions.
"The debate so far has been informed by lobbyists with workshopped words and a series of lunches," he told The West Australian.
