TasFarmers, Media Release, 5 May 2026

Farmers are demanding answers after the sale of Tasmania’s largest farm, Rushy Lagoon, was granted a third extension for review by the Foreign Investment Review Board.

TasFarmers said the repeated delays, now extending beyond the standard statutory reporting timeframe, raise serious questions about the financing and transparency of the proposed foreign investment deal.

TasFarmers President Nathan Cox said the peak body had written to the Treasurer, Minister for Agriculture and FIRB, but still had no clear update on whether taxpayer funds had been committed through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation or any other mechanism to support the proposed purchase by British investment firm Grisham House.

“We’ve had no responses to formal correspondence to address the concerns around the sale of Rushy Lagoon. No clarity. No explanation,” Mr Cox said.

“That’s not good enough for the people who live and work in that region.”

Mr Cox said it was increasingly difficult to understand why FIRB had been unable to make a timely decision.

“If additional time has been made to allow for proper consultation with industry associations and the local community, it would be welcomed.

“However, it must also be recognised that this is the third delay in the decision-making process, and it is causing a lot of anguish and concern in the local community that could have been avoided.

“If it’s this difficult to make a decision, there must be something questionable,” Mr Cox said.

Mr Cox said the north-east community still did not know what was happening with one of the region’s largest economic drivers.

“For everyone impacted, we just want some answers from Ministers and their Departments,” Mr Cox said.

“The lack of response is casting their ability to engage with their constituents in a poor light.”

Mr Cox said any approval following such a prolonged and opaque process would require strong justification and close scrutiny.

“Confidence in the system matters. Right now, that confidence is being eroded,” Mr Cox said.

TasFarmers said it will continue to press for transparency and clarity on the matter until it is satisfactorily resolved in the interests of Tasmania’s agricultural sector.