Darwin port lease: Turnbull brushes off chiding by Barack Obama

The Prime Minister jokes he encouraged US officials to subscribe to the NT News for information about Darwin’s port sale.

President Barack Obama at the APEC summit in Manila.

Malcolm Turnbull has brushed off a chiding by US President Barack Obama over the lease of the Port of Darwin to Chinese company Landbridge Group, amid Labor claims the issue has become a “national embarrassment”.

The Prime Minister yesterday made light of Mr Obama’s request at the APEC meeting in Manila that Washington be kept in the loop on “these sorts of things” and confirmed that US officials had first quizzed him about the lease a number of weeks ago.

Mr Turnbull deflected questions on the failure to inform the US by revealing he had encouraged US officials to subscribe to the NT News — a tabloid paper known for its colourful headlines and focus on crocodiles.

He noted the details about the privatisation of the port had been public for at least 12 months and was “very, very well known”.

“The fact that the Darwin port was being privatised was not a secret,” he said.

“It was put to me that the first thing they had read about it (the lease of Darwin port) was in The Wall Street Journal.

“I suggested that they should invest in a subscription to the Northern Territory News, because it was not a secret. I think it’s important to support metropolitan newspapers right around Australia and especially in Darwin.”

Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen seized on the exchange with Mr Obama to label the government’s handling of the lease a “national embarrassment”.

Mr Bowen criticised the government for failing to consult with the US, saying that a thorough assessment of the lease by the Foreign Investment Review Board would have ensured greater transparency.

“The reason that parties like the United States government were caught out on this was because of a lack of a transparent FIRB process surrounding the lease sale,” he said.

“The leasing of Port of Darwin didn’t trigger a formal review by the FIRB because, in part, it was an asset owned by the Northern Territory government.”

“This raises serious questions over the consultation and approval processes that occurred here, but also raises questions over similar transactions that may occur in the future that involve strategic assets.”

Echoing Defence Department Secretary Dennis Richardson in yesterday’s The Australian, Mr Turnbull provided a reassurance that Australian authorities could take control over the port where it was “deemed necessary for purposes of defence”.

Mr Richardson told The Australian the decision to lease the port to the Landbridge Group for 99 years at a cost of $506 million was exhaustively examined by Defence and ASIO.

He also cited Defence Force Chief Mark Binskin’s view that spying could be more easily done “sitting on a stool at the fish and chip shop on the wharf”.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said the US concerns over the lease showed the government had botched the process. “It’s been quite a mess from beginning to end,” she said.

Treasurer Scott Morrison clarified that the lease of Darwin port was not captured by the FIRB process and that it made no recommendation on the issue.