You should never sell critical infrastructure to a dictatorship. I hope Australia goes ahead and corrects this mistake.
Full agreement, but also china does have a point here. Leasing it out when it’s losing money only to take it back when it’s making money is the dirt of behavior that makes trading partners decide you’re untrustworthy
Also generation length leases of public property and infrastructure are categorically a bad idea and should be banned outside specific categories like public housing being leased to residents
This is not about making money but about national security. China does the same btw, you can’t acquire stakes in Chinese infrastructure as a foreigner. Australia can payout China for its share, but there must be absolutely no discussion that Australia regains control imo. The untrustworthy trading partner here, once again, China. They don’t play by the rules.
Sneaky invasion, dang! Do what you gotta do, Australia.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged to return the port to Australian control during campaigning ahead of national elections in May last year, saying the facility should be run by a local company or the government.
This is why you should make sure there’s at least x% of local being hired, else they will fill every post with their own people. And to yank the control back like that is really dumb moves as well.
