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PATTERSON CRITICAL
Northern profits
'to foreigners'
A senior Labor Par
liamentarian strongly
attacked the Govern
ment yesterday for
what he called its lack
of control over the
mineral and land re
sources of the north.
Dr R. A. Patterson, a
Queensland member of the
Labor shadow cabinet, said
the Government's refusal to
implement decisive policies
had resulted in land and
mineral wealth passing into
the hands of foreign inves
tors.
"The reason why the ex
ploitation of raw mineral
resources is so willingly
conducted is that the Fed
eral Government is obsessed
with increasing export in
come in the short term as
quickly as possible", he
said.
Dr Patterson was speak
ing at the annual conference
of the Australian Agricul
tural Economics Society at
the Australian National
University in Canberra.
Land held by
outsiders
He said the Federal and
Queensland Governments
had refused to implement
land-settlement projects in
the high-rainfall areas or to
legislate against the ease
with which foreign investors
could buy land.
I This had resulted in most
'of the best and favourably
located land in the North
ern Territory and Cape
York falling under the con
trol of foreign investors,
Foreign countries were
extracting raw materials
without the slightest obli
'gation to Australia to either
establish processing works
or to contribute to the basic
development of the area.
The most glaring example
of exploitation in Austra
lia's North was the race hy
foreign companies to re
move to Japan the large
deposit of ' high-quality
coal.
Dr Patterson also at
tacked the Government for
what he said was its failure
to police the number of
foreign fishing boats illeg
ally operating in Northern
Territorial waters.
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