Expectations are growing of a renewed bid to end a Chinese company’s control of Darwin Port, after the prime minister revealed he would have “more to say” about the 99-year lease during the election campaign.
The ABC has been told American officials are increasingly concerned by the agreement signed with Beijing-controlled Landbridge Group in 2015 and have continued to raise the matter with Australia since President Donald Trump’s re-election.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese again signalled his government was considering options to end the $506 million contract with Landbridge Group to operate the strategic facility in Australia’s north.
Speaking to reporters, the prime minister insisted he would never have “flogged it off in the first place”, referring to the Northern Territory government’s decision to sell the port a decade ago, which was approved by then Turnbull government.
“We opposed the sale of the port of Darwin. We opposed it at the time, we thought that was unwise,” Mr Albanese said.
Asked whether Labor would be prepared to buy the lease back, the prime minister responded: “I will have more to say over the course of this campaign”.
Following February’s live fire exercises by the Chinese navy in the Tasman Sea, the Federal Labor MP for the Northern Territory seat of Solomon, Luke Gosling, argued Darwin port should be returned to Australian hands.
“The fact is, shifting geopolitical landscapes, economic priorities and security concerns can dramatically alter relationships between nations,” Mr Gosling wrote in an opinion piece.
Mr Albanese is expected to announce the government’s next steps on Darwin Port when he visits the Northern Territory during the election campaign, in which Labor is trying to protect the seats of Solomon and Lingiari.
In 2016, then treasurer Scott Morrison unveiled a strengthening of FIRB rules following the Darwin Port sale, and in 2023 the Albanese government announced it would not cancel the deal following a review involving several departments and security agencies including ASIO.
However, figures familiar with recent government discussions say financial difficulties recently uncovered within Landbridge could spark a fresh examination of the 99-year lease, sparking another possible FIRB review.
Last year, a PWC audit of the Darwin Port lease revealed significant financial concerns within Landbridge, revealing it had made a net loss on the operation of more than $34 million in the 2023-24 financial year.
According to one industry source, if Landbridge was forced to rearrange its financial structure in any way, it could trigger a fresh FIRB assessment, which could allow a termination of the port lease.
In a statement to the ABC, Landbridge insisted the Darwin Port operation was a “long-term investment” that has “reported record operational performance this year”.
“Landbridge and Darwin Port have not been involved in any discussions with the federal government concerning our lease arrangements,” says Terry O’Connor, the non-executive director for Landbridge in Australia.
“Landbridge considers the Port a long-term investment that has reported record operational performance this year. We expect this growth to continue in the future,” Mr O’Connor added.
US nuclear submarine docks in Darwin Harbour despite Chinese port concerns
Over recent days, increased security measures have been put in place around Darwin Harbour for the arrival of a US nuclear submarine which has docked near the Landbridge-owned port.
On the weekend, Defence Minister Richard Marles toured the USS Minnesota while it was in the Northern Territory capital but declined to say if the Trump administration had expressed any concerns about the continuing Chinese lease.
“With additional security that’s been provided by the Northern Territory government, by ourselves, [and] with the Americans’ own security, they were very complimentary about this specific visit and the way in which they have been handled,” Mr Marles told reporters on Saturday.
“So that’s very important, and we’re very pleased in that sense that this visit is going off in the way that it is.”
