Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has come under fire from shadow home affairs minister James Paterson for avoiding “scrutiny and accountability” about the Port of Darwin contract.
In the past, Mr. Albanese had voiced his opinions about the port’s lease, calling it a “grave mistake” to provide the site to a Landbridge subsidiary based in China.
The Obama Administration also sent warnings over the lease to the Turnbull government, citing evidence that Landbridge was associated with the People’s Liberation Army.
The Prime Minister announced a review of the 99-year deal after Labour won the most recent federal election, raising the possibility that it could be terminated for reasons related to national security.
But last Friday, after discovering that there was “a robust regulatory system in place to manage risks to critical infrastructure,” the government issued a statement stating that it was “not necessary to vary or cancel the lease.”
However, Senator Paterson blasted the government’s Tuesday announcement, claiming that Mr. Albanese had “squibbed” the publication of the review’s conclusions.
“When you look at decisions like the decision not to take action on the Port of Darwin, I mean, in opposition Anthony Albanese said it was a grave mistake and he said that he would do a review,” he stated.
Now that he’s done it, he’s squibbed it, of course, and he did it on a Friday afternoon following a news conference, following the weekly sitting of Parliament. “Just no scrutiny and accountability over a pretty significant national security issue.”
The Senator went on to say that although though the lease was signed by a Coalition government that had since left office, he had always thought it was a “mistake” and that the parties had significantly changed foreign investment legislation to make sure something like would never happen again.
The choice to keep the lease in place coincides with Mr. Albanese’s scheduled departure for Beijing, where he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The prime minister will be the first Australian leader to visit Beijing since 2016.
There were rumours that Mr. Albanese would postpone the journey until he obtained concessions from China about several trade disputes and the release of two Australian nationals who were being held by the Chinese authorities.
On the same day that China agreed to reconsider tariffs imposed on Australian wines, the Prime Minister’s trip was confirmed, and after more than three years of jail, journalist Cheng Lei was allowed to return home.
While applauding the move towards normalising relations, Senator Paterson emphasised that Mr. Albanese could not afford to give the Chinese government any significant policy “concessions” in exchange for the visit.
He speculated that the choice to keep the Port of Darwin lease in place might have served as an example, but he couldn’t be positive of that because the opposition wasn’t able to “scrutinise” the decision’s justification.
“Only the Prime Minister can explain that and he hasn’t adequately explained that because of the non-transparent way he’s handled this,” said the senator.
“Dropping it cynically on a Friday afternoon, right before he leaves for overseas, following his press conference of the day, after the Parliament has risen. “We haven’t had time to examine this agreement or the reasoning behind it.”
