THE much-lauded free trade agreement signed with China last year may well turn out to be another Trojan horse. 
As reported in your article "Cattle do nicely" (C-M, Aug 4), Chinese investors appear to be lining up to purchase any piece of Australian rural or urban property that isn't nailed down. And it's not just the Chinese.
International companies financed by foreign governments are steadily buying up and taking over Australia's food production and processing facilities.
The free trade deal with China will even allow overseas companies to bring in their own workers.
It appears that the free trade agreement is nothing more than a clever mechanism to allow foreign domination of our economy and offers nothing to Australian workers.
Of particular concern is that Australian governments have allowed this to happen without bothering, until this year, to keep a record of foreign ownership.
Other countries must be laughing at our stupidity. As a direct result of this, for example, Australian families can't afford to purchase their own homes but instead must rent from foreign landlords.
Foreign gas conglomerates won't sell gas produced from Australian fields to the domestic market. Soon the great Aussie barbie will be a distant memory with foreigners controlling meat production.
Unless Australian governments address the issues of foreign ownership of our natural resources, Australians will be dispossessed in their own country. We will have only ourselves to blame.Geoff Roberts, Brendale