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BCN-04
AUSTRALIA-INVESTMENT
Australia eyes new national security test for foreign investment
SYDNEY, June 5, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Australia moved to tighten screening of new foreign investments Friday, announcing tougher measures to block or overturn those deemed to compromise national security, in a move widely viewed as an effort to limit growing Chinese influence in the country.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government would introduce powers to review even small-scale investments in sensitive sectors such as telecommunications, critical infrastructure and defence from 2021.
“Investment in Australia must be on our terms, on our rules and in our interests,” he said.
Under current rules, a government panel only looks at large investments — worth more than Aus$1.2 billion (US$830 million) in the case of free-trade partners.
But Morrison played down talk of a fresh point of dispute between Canberra and Beijing, with Australia having effectively barred Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from being a major player in its 5G rollout owing to concerns about its relationship with state security agencies.
“I see no reason why that should be the case,” he said. “Countries make decisions in their own interests… we respect the rules and interests of other countries.”
A regional government’s 2015 decision to lease Darwin Port to a Chinese company is still being bitterly argued over and was seen as a serious national security blunder.
Under the proposed changes, existing investments will not be revisited, but investments made after January 1, 2021 could be reviewed at any time if circumstances, technology or markets change.
BSS/AFP/MMA/1030HRS