Taking Australia back: PM announces tough new measures to stop foreigners buying our land and assets - and China will be FURIOUS
- Foreign investment bids in Australian assets are to face a new level of scrutiny
- Zero-dollar limit means government power to block acquisitions is strengthened
- Treasury will have power to force sale or impose conditions on foreign buyers
- Follows series of high-profile controversial takeovers in Australia companies
- Lease of Port of Darwin to Chinese company for 99 years criticised by the US
Foreign investment laws in Australia will be completely overhauled as part of tough new rules to protect the country's national security.
The federal government's zero-dollar approval threshold will mean all foreign bids for companies from large telecommunication businesses to small defence providers will be vetted by the Foreign Investment Review Board.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will also have the power to force a sale or impose conditions on foreign acquisition of Australian assets even after a purchase is made.
Previously the treasury could only block foreign purchases of Australian assets which exceeded a takeover threshold of $1.2billion.
The new laws follow a series of recent controversial takeovers by Chinese-owned companies - including the lease of the Port of Darwin to Chinese Communist Party-linked Landbridge Group in November 2015.
In November 2015, the Northern Territory government was paid $506million to lease the Port of Darwin (pictured) to a Chinese company for 99 years in a controversial deal called into question by then-US President Barack Obama. Foreign investment laws in Australia will now be completely overhauled as part of tough new rules to protect the country's national security
The deal was called into question by then-US President Barack Obama at the time, leading former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage to say Australia had 'blindsided' its ally.
Government sources have claimed the agreement with the group's subsidiary Landbridge Australia would not have been approved had the FIRB's rules been in place, The Australian reported.
'Through the introduction of a new national security test, stronger enforcement powers and enhanced compliance obligations, we will ensure that Australia can continue to benefit from foreign investment while safeguarding our national interest,' Mr Frydenberg said.
In 2016, then-treasurer Scott Morrison also overturned a Chinese bid for energy company Ausgrid over national security concerns.
The intervention just 10 days before the deal's deadline led to the Chinese government accusing Canberra of 'discrimination' and 'protectionism'.
Chinese buyers spent $24billion on Australian real estate during the last year, making them by far the largest group of foreign purchasers.
China is also the largest foreign stakeholder in the Australian water market - with Chinese investors owning 732 gigalitres or 1.89 per cent of the water.
Chinese buyers spent $24billion on Australian real estate during the last year, making them by far the largest group of foreign purchasers (pictured is a Sydney ad targeting Chinese buyers)
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has declared there will be a zero dollar threshold for all proposed foreign investments in an Australian business or business entity
It comes as Australia strengthens ties with India as relations with China, its largest trading power, continues to sour.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi signed off a new agreement in a virtual summit on Thursday.
It aims to boost economic trade between the two countries, build closer partnerships around science and technology and strengthen defence cooperation.
The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership comes as Chinese forces become more aggressive in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as slapping huge tariffs on Australian imports.
Victoria and Tasmania Consul-General of China Long Zhou. The announcement of the new government powers comes amid worsening diplomatic relations between China and Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic
With Australia and India both seeking to push back against China's encroaching presence, Mr Morrison said 'trusted partners' must work together.
'It is time for our relationship to go broader and deeper,' he said on Thursday.
'In a time like this we want to deal very much with friends and trusted partners.
'And this is a partnership which has stood the test, time and again, and is during the course of this current crisis.
Sold to the Chinese: This map shows some of the companies and places that have been snapped up by Chinese investors
The single foreign entity with the largest share of water rights is the Cubbie Station (pictured), a massive Queensland cotton farm largely owned by a Chinese textiles company
'We share a vision for open, free, rules-based, multilateral systems in our region.
'Whether that is in the health area or it is in trade or other places. We engage in those as confident but sovereign nations.'
While Australia has faced a backlash from Beijing over calls for an independent international inquiry into the origins of coronavirus and the actions of the Chinese Communist Party, its relations with India have also eroded dramatically.
The two countries share the world's longest land border, with China also being one of India's biggest trading partner.
But in the past few months month tensions over disputed territory in the Himalayan Sikkim region once again flared up resulting in a mass buildup of troops in the mountainous area.
In May, China announced a 80.5 per cent levy on barley exports, after weeks of threatening to boycott Australian industries.
Australia sends between half and two-thirds of all its barley to China, making the tariff decision a massive blow to the $600 million a year industry.
India is Australia's eighth-largest trading partner and fifth-largest export market, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) speaks to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 2020 Virtual Leaders Summit
Two-way goods and services trade between India and Australia totalled $30.3 billion in the 2019 financial year, with coal and education Australia's main export drivers.
But under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Prime Minister Modi expects those figures will increase even further.
He described the agreement as a 'new model of India-Australia partnership and a new model of conducting business'.
'We had an outstanding discussion, covering the entire expanse of our relationship,' Mr Modi said.
Australia has faced a backlash from Beijing over calls for an independent international inquiry into the origins of coronavirus (pictured, a Chinese soldier at Tiananmen Square on May 28)
'With Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Australia, we aspire to achieve yet new heights in our collaboration.'
One of the big winners from the deal is expected to be Australian barley farmers who are looking to expand into new markets after one of their biggest buyers China slapped an 80 percent tariff on their product.
Other areas of focus will include the internet and maritime security.
'Australia and India are working together to promote an open, safe and secure internet, and to ensure critical tech does not pose risks to security and prosperity,' Australian Foreigh Minister Marise Payne said.
'(We) have also marked a major step forward in our security and defence relationship.
'Today we signed a wide-ranging maritime declaration committing our nations to supporting the rules-based order at sea in the Indo-Pacific region.'
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMieGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtODM4OTk4NS9QTS1hbm5vdW5jZXMtdG91Z2gtbmV3LW1lYXN1cmVzLXN0b3AtZm9yZWlnbmVycy1idXlpbmctbGFuZC1hc3NldHMuaHRtbNIBfGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtODM4OTk4NS9hbXAvUE0tYW5ub3VuY2VzLXRvdWdoLW5ldy1tZWFzdXJlcy1zdG9wLWZvcmVpZ25lcnMtYnV5aW5nLWxhbmQtYXNzZXRzLmh0bWw?oc=5
2020-06-05 00:16:56Z
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