Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

What I would offer on that is that, given that the legislation is focused on state and territory engagement with foreign governments, commercial arrangements entered into by corporations are therefore not the focus of the scheme. Arrangements of that nature may only be within the scheme's scope if they are subsidiary to a core or non-core arrangement between the state or territory government and a foreign government or a foreign government entity. That's irrespective of whether the corporation is wholly or partly state owned or privately owned. Arrangements by state or territory locally owned corporations such as water corporations or port authorities are not the focus of the legislation. My understanding is that those sorts of transactions, those sorts of commercial arrangements, are best situated within the context of FIRB arrangements rather than this bill.