China-Australian relations: parliament panel calls for rethink over Port of Darwin lease
- Chinese company Landbridge was given a 99-year lease in 2015, but a parliamentary report suggested it should be reviewed under a new national security law
- Relations between Beijing and Canberra have come under increasing strain over the past year
An Australian parliamentary inquiry has called on the government to consider revoking the 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese company citing a new foreign relations law.
The decision to lease the port in 2015 caused controversy because it is also used as a base by the Australian and United States armed forces.
A report by parliament’s joint standing committee on trade and investment growth recommended that the Australian government should investigate whether the lease contravenes the new Foreign Relations Act.
The recommendation comes at a time when relations between the two countries have sunk to new lows over the past year after Canberra angered Beijing with a call last April for an investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic while Australian exports have been hit by a number of restrictions.
The Foreign Relations Act, passed in December, allows the federal government to block international agreements made by universities, councils and state governments on national security grounds without the prospect of appeal.
The act was passed following a controversy about a memorandum of understanding the state of Victoria signed to join Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, but some lawyers have criticised its “authoritarian-sounding” provisions.
The parliamentary committee’s non-binding report said: “There are recommendations that go to serious concerns regarding state-owned enterprises and state-linked enterprises funding our universities and owning or leasing our strategic infrastructure, including the port of Darwin.
“Given the ongoing tensions with China, it is an unacceptable national security risk to have Chinese state-owned and state-linked enterprises involved in our universities, including Confucius Institutes, and our strategic infrastructure.