Darwin’s Chinese community calls for Labor, the Coalition to reconsider port lease plans

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The future of Darwin Port is under a cloud after election promises by both Labor and the Coalition to change its ownership from the Chinese-owned company that leased it in 2015. But members of Darwin’s Chinese community are now calling on whoever win’s Saturday’s election to reconsider their plans for the port and saying stripping the lease could do serious economic damage to the Top End.

Transcript

00:00A federal promise to take back the Darwin port lease from Chinese company Landbridge.

00:09Some believe it could make a meal of the NT's fragile economy.

00:13That will make it worse.

00:15Not only the business itself, also the investors' confidence.

00:22In the throes of this year's federal election campaign, both Labor and the Coalition have

00:27pledged to get the port back into Australian hands, raising concerns from within Darwin's

00:34Chinese community.

00:35In Darwin, we don't have any major project so far, for many years.

00:41So Darwin port is probably the one still alive.

00:46Events like this Darwin Dragon Boat Festival also receive annual funding from Landbridge,

00:52which community members fear will go and not be replaced once the lease is removed.

00:58For people living in the community here forever, like us, we do care and we feel very disappointed

01:07and very sad.

01:09It's hard to see this as anything aside from partisan politicking by both sides.

01:13Prior to the election promises, Landbridge's lease had been reviewed by successive federal

01:18governments, with no national security threats made clear.

01:22The sale was made in 2015.

01:25Governments of both stripes have been in power over the past decade.

01:29None of them have moved to get rid of the Chinese ownership of the port.

01:33If the next government can't find a buyer to take over the port and it's forced to strip

01:38the lease from Landbridge, the cost will likely be huge.

01:42And that will be coming straight from the taxpayers' hip pocket.

01:45And you know, for no apparently good national security reason.

01:48Neither Labor nor the Coalition responded to questions about how much they'd pay to take

01:53back the lease.

01:55Or if there'd been any new national security advice over the port's operation here in Darwin

02:00that had come to the fore.

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Transcript

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