Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce says he has specific concerns about the sale of Queensland's Cubbie Station to foreign investors, but that doesn't mean he's against foreign investment altogether.
Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey has hit out at Nationals who oppose the sale, saying they don't speak for the Coalition.
Senator Joyce says Cubbie is a special case, because of its high profile and its position as the largest irrigator in the Murray-Darling Basin, which is currently undergoing a very difficult reform process.
And he says he'd be concerned about the sale regardless of which country bought the property.
Senator Joyce says he would have liked to see an attempt made to divide and sell the property in parts, rather than selling Cubbie whole to an overseas buyer.
"We haven't got a problem with foreign investment [per se], this is an exceptional case," he said.
"And if we can't look at the sale of the biggest property in Australia, the biggest water licence in Australia, the most sensitive area - which is water - in the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia, if we can't raise concerns about that and discuss it, then what is our purpose?"
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