AFTER undergoing a public interest test and scrutiny by the State government, the landmark sale of premium Kimberley pastoral station leases, Jubilee Downs and Quanbun Downs, was approved.
The purchasers, Western Australian billionaires Andrew and Nicola Forrest can now rest easy with their first acquisition in the Kimberely region finalised, purchased via their investment company Tattarang.
The couple paid just over $30 million for the properties, together measuring 221,408 hectares and included 11,500 top quality Droughtmaster cattle.
The value of the cattle and land was about a 50:50 split.
The vendors were Keith and Karen Anderson, who were also the managers for many decades and silent partner, United States billionaire Edward Bass.
A State government spokesperson said any transfer of a pastoral lease required approval from Land Minister Ben Wyatt.
In addition to that approval, this deal was required to undergo a public interest test as it would result in the Forrest's WA pastoral holdings exceeding the legal limit of 500,000ha.
"As a result of the proposed transfer, Forrest and Forrest will hold less than two per cent of the State's pastoral estate and holdings will not be concentrated in any one area of the State," the spokesperson said.
"All pastoral properties held by the Forrest family are well managed with no compliance concerns.
"Under the Land Administration Act 1997, the Minister for Lands cannot unreasonably refuse to approve the transfer of a pastoral lease.
"With this in mind and after seeking extensive legal advice, the Minister for Lands has approved the transfer of the Jubilee Downs and Quanbun Downs pastoral leases to Forrest and Forrest Pty Ltd."
When the Forrests were announced as the purchasers, the local Aboriginal community and groups vocalised their disappointment that their offer for the stations was rejected.
A consortium of Aboriginal parties, including the Yi-Martuwarra Ngurrara native title group, offered $25m.
Yi-Martuwarra Ngurrara expressed concern that the Forrests would take water from the Forrest River and subsequently cause damage to the natural environment, which it had the desire to protect.
But when Mr Forrest spoke to Farm Weekly in July, he pledged to conduct a native fauna survey of the property to determine any rare or endangered species and then devise a plan to protect and increase them.
Mr Forrest also said he was open to working with the local indigenous community.
"Ownership is a bit of a white folk construct; indigenous people have been custodians of this land for tens of thousands of year and that's not going to stop and I see that when you fall in love with country, it owns you, you don't own it," Mr Forrest said at the time.
"Their ability to maintain that custodianship, to be able to enjoy hunting and gathering rights, we would welcome."
Harvest Road took possession of the property on December 3 and the company said integrating the properties into the business has been immediate and ongoing.
"Harvest Road Group are continuing to engage with local (Aboriginal) elders and the Yi-Martuwarra community to ensure access, and to preserve and protect significant and sacred sites," said Harvest Road Group general manager of agriculture Kim McDougall.
"The Forrest family has a proud history of working with Aboriginal elders and their families for many generations and we look forward to continuing this alongside the Yi-Martuwarra community."
The sale was handled by Elders Real Estate pastoral sales specialist Greg Smith, who said he couldn't see a reason why the State government would deem the sale not in the public interest.
"The Forrest family has a long association with the WA pastoral industry and they have very close ties to WA," Mr Smith said.
"The properties were going out of majority foreign ownership to all Australian owned.
"I feared that a rejection based on political reasons could be damaging to the pastoral industry."
Interestingly, the vendors did not look at price alone when assessing offers to purchase Jubilee Downs as the Forrests did not present the highest offer.
Mr Smith said the Andersons sought a buyer which had what they saw as good intentions for the land and cattle, which they found in the Forrests.
"Keith Anderson loved the property and he loved the bush," he said.
"Given that Alexander Island (part of Jubilee Downs) was named after Alexander Forrest (Andrew Forrest's great-grand uncle) and one of the rivers used to be named Forrest River, the properties had sentimental value to the Forrest family.
"I think the sentimental connection with the land was shared between the vendor and buyer - they have mutual respect for one another."
Mr Smith said he has sold numerous properties which underwent the same scrutiny for the same reason of exceeding the 500,000ha pastoral land limit.
He recalled only one sale being rejected, but the deal was subsequently approved when the percentage of Australian ownership and involvement of the buying entity increased.
