CHINESE company Landbridge, the leaseholder of the Port of Darwin, has reiterated the business is not for sale and says neither it nor the port company has been involved in any discussions with the Federal Government, Opposition or Northern Territory Government concerning lease arrangements.
On Friday evening [4 April] PM Anthony Albanese told Darwin radio his government had been working on a plan to end Chinese involvement for some time.
Mr Albanese said his government is looking for a private buyer, particularly through superannuation funds, to end the $506 million contract with Landbridge Group to operate the strategic facility.
“What we are doing is we will enter into negotiations,” he said. That is what we’ve been doing informally, through potential buyers up to this point already, and if it reaches a point where the Commonwealth needs to directly intervene, then we’d be prepared to do that.”
He declined to detail how much his government would be willing to pay but told Radio Darwin that the government would have more to say before 3 May. The PM’s intervention appeared to be an attempt to pre-empt a Saturday morning policy announcement by Opposition leader Peter Dutton.
Mr Dutton said, “Only a Coalition Government will end the uncertainty regarding the Port of Darwin once and for all.
“A Dutton Coalition Government would not permit the lease of the port to any entity that is directly or indirectly controlled by a foreign government, including any state-owned enterprise or sovereign wealth fund,’’ Mr Dutton told news.com.au.
“We will appoint a specialist commercial adviser to work with the Northern Territory Government and officials from the Departments of Treasury, Finance, Defence and Infrastructure to provide advice and engage with potential new operators of the Port.
“If a private lease cannot be facilitated within six months of the process commencing, as a last resort, we will act to acquire the lease interest in the Port using the Commonwealth’s compulsory acquisition powers.
“Under this course of action, the Australian Government would compensate Landbridge Group.”
However, Landbridge “on Saturday again stressed “As previously stated, the Port is not for sale.
“Landbridge is disappointed that we are being used as a political football in the current election campaign. We are a positive contributor to the Northern Territory economy, AN ACTIVE SUPPORTER OF COMMUNITY EVENTS and employer of almost 100 Darwin based employees.
“Landbridge considers the Port a long-term investment that has grown significantly under Landbridge’s ownership and has reported record operational performance this year. We expect this growth to continue in the future.”
Analysts at the Australian Financial Review have raised doubts over the likelihood of finding a commercial buyer for the lease, suggesting it is very small beer for Australian superannuation funds which are increasingly looking overseas for profitable infrastructure investments, while international buyers are ruled out by the politics of the situation.
The AFR cites railco Aurizon, which has been increasing its involvement with and investment in the Darwin port logistics precinct, as a potentially interested local party.
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