Treasurer Scott Morrison has hit out at opponents of his decision to approve the sale of Australia's largest dairy farm operation to a Chinese company.
Mr Morrison says to knock back the sale of Van Diemen's Land Company to China's Moon Lake Investments would have meant no investment tender process could be taken seriously again in Australia.
"The alternative decision would have put the jobs of 235 Tasmanians at risk and robbed the Tasmanian economy of $100 million in new investment," he writes in the Australian Financial Review on Friday.
Mr Morrison acknowledged those against the decision argue the Foreign Investment Review Board process should have been used to overturn an entirely legitimate private tender process because an unsuccessful commercial bidder had failed to win the bid.
But if the government agreed to that demand, it would be against the national interest.
"This would have smashed investor confidence at the worst possible time and counteracted the significant gains we have been making that are helping Australia be so successful as we transition our economy."
It would have added a sovereign risk premium to every other following transaction, because no investor would be able to have any confidence their successful bid wouldn't be "gazumped" by unsuccessful bidders pressuring the treasurer to reopen the process.
