Andrew Robb (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade and Investment) Share this | Hansard source

Secondly, the Territory government, in fact, sought the involvement of the Foreign Investment Review Board from day one. They were not required to do that. The Foreign Investment Review Board followed that process from day one over a period of nearly 18 months, I understand. Then the Defence department was engaged and brought into the picture by the Foreign Investment Review Board. The Defence department, at every level, including a level which had contact with the US government, reached a decision. Dennis Richardson, the secretary of Defence, made it very clear that they had no objections to the sale of the Port of Darwin to Landbridge. He said:

No part of Defence had a concern from a security perspective …

The Defence department was consulted about it. They did not have any concerns about it. I advise the member that we, as a government, take great care with the propriety and integrity of foreign investment, as does the Northern Territory government. We have to carry the nation with us. We have to have national support. We have to act in the national interest of our country. That is what happened with the Port of Darwin. That is what happened with other major assets. If we do not get foreign capital into this country, we will not develop as we should.

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