So, they set out to ask this question:
Who owns Australia?
OK, interesting.
Pastoral leases cover 44% of Australia, according to Austrade. Pastoral leases are defined by Austrade as a title issued for the lease of an area of crown land to use for the limited purpose of grazing of stock and associated activities. We were able to identify the leaseholders for just over half that area, pulling together data on more than 400 owners who together hold 700 stations covering 189.5m hectares – or about a quarter of the country.
Add in the actual Crown land – I think – and you get to majority ownership.
That is, the government of Australia owns the majority of Australia.
At which point the Guardian chunters on about who owns the leases, not the land.
It’s ever such a bit misleading…..
China owns Australia
Like it owns New Zealand, Africa, US debt….
Why don’t you segue into how a lack of property rights in Oz as above, has allowed the onward march of Tyranny there with Premier Dan etc all doing their best to keep people out of the sun to reduce natural defences against the dreaded Rona.
It’s a former colony, therefore everything was annexed by The Crown, that’s how British colonies worked. Therefore everything is Crown Land, therefore everything is owned by the government. When you “buy” land in a former colony you are buying the right to occupy and transfer Crown Land.
Exceptions are interesting oddities. In Hong Kong the sole piece of freehold land is the site of the Anglian Cathedral.
“In Hong Kong the sole piece of freehold land is the site of the Anglian Cathedral”.
Today, perhaps, but very soon will no doubt be a Chinese owned monument to the wisdom of Xi Jin Ping Pong (affectionately known as Pooh Bear due to his startlingly similar body shape to A A Milne’s character).
It’s ever such a bit misleading…..
As ever, it is tricky to say whether it’s deliberately misleading or written by a quarterwit who doesn’t know the difference.
It’s similar in most of the western US and I would expect much of Canada. The land area of California is almost 50% owned by the federal government. Most western states are substantial owned by the feds.
I prefer to think of Xi as Pooh-Bah:
“first lord of the treasury, lord chief justice, commander-in chief, lord high admiral, master of the buckhounds, groom of the back stairs, archbishop of Titipu, and lord mayor, both acting and elect, all rolled into one.”
That government owns the majority of the land is a surprise to them?
In my state, Arizona, the Federal government alone owns 39% of the land. The state itself owns about 11% – 50% government owned. And Arizona is about the size of Italy.
In Nevada the feds own 85%!