andrew robb darwin port
Ministerial business that just happens to coincide with a grand final or a concert; electorate business that must be conducted in prime tourist locations, or at the same time as party fundraisers. Former trade minister Andrew Robb becomes a "high-level economic consultant" with the Chinese company that now operates Darwin Port, a $506 million deal that sparked concerns at the highest levels . The irony is that while at a political level our relationship is facing some difficulties, at a commercial level our relationship has never been better. "Australia-China political relations had "turned to custard" and . The Landbridge group had been granted a 99-year lease on Port Darwin in 2015 during Robbs time as trade minister. Australia-China political relations had turned to custard and business ties could follow. Oh, that was like 7 years ago, said Dutton about Former Trade Minister Andrew Robbs advocacy to give Chinese company Landbridge a 99-year lease to the Port of Darwin. Billionaire Ye Cheng is the owner of Landbridge, which controversially acquired the 99-year lease for the Port of Darwin in 2015. Mr Ye is the owner of Landbridge, which controversially acquired the 99-year lease for the Port of Darwin in 2015. The ABC reported it had obtained and translated a . By all accounts, he wasn't involved with Landbridge in late 2015 when the deal went through, and the federal cabinet was not aware of the deal until hours before then-chief minister Adam Giles announced it publicly in November 2015. It ended with the city being decimated 77 short years ago. Ultimately, he said the move was all about soft power and influence. Read more: The Landbridge statement from September 2 said "the process of internationalisation of the Landbridge Group and the results achieved had greatly impressed him (Mr Robb)". The $506 million the Northern Territory Government was paid for a 99-year lease of the Darwin Port by Chinese company Landbridge is long gone, but Australians' feelings of unease remain. As . Robb is also the co-publisher of The Party Room alongside Senator Mitch Fifield,[citation needed] a journal designed to promote new policy discussion within the Federal Coalition. Then US president Barack Obama expressed concern about the lack of consultation. Clumsiness and indecision do not serve Australian interests well. The details of the consultancy have never been disclosed by Mr Ye or Mr Robb. The Port of Darwin's 99-year lease with Chinese company Landbridge has attracted criticism since 2015. Fairfax Media and Four Corners are not suggesting that Mr Robb has breached his obligations as an ex-minister. Mr Ye's interest in the winery is via his brother, Gang Ye. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Read more: Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, former prime minister Tony Abbott and then trade minister Andrew Robb at the signing of the China-Australia free trade agreement in June 2015. Ms McKenzie was chief of staff to Andrew Robb when he was the Liberal government's trade, investment and tourism minister. Weaknesses in Australian governments at all levels have been revealed. Contact us on: support@crikey.com.au or call the hotline: +61 (03) 8623 9900. Robb was on the payroll of Landbridge before he resigned as an MP. "Rather than being xenophobic about this, we need to be alive to the commercial deals that are being done and what might come later," Dr Garrick said. He was Honorary Finance Director for the NSW Division of the Liberal Party and a member of the NSW State Executive. Just as they have many other of Australias pushbacks against China. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Everybody in the NT remembers the last time Darwin was caught in the middle of a conflict between the Americans and a rising Asian empire. Andrew Robb says said "Canberra had every right to reassess the port lease in light of changing strategic circumstances. The private agreement between Mr Robb and Mr Ye contains no mention of Mr Robb's international knowledge and networks, referring only to his role providing "consulting" and "strategic" services. The port's acquisition sparked a major controversy after then US president Barack Obama complained he hadn't been forewarned. Mr Robb was scathing in comments to the ABC last week about a "toxic" relationship between Australia and China that he blamed on former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and Australia's intelligence agencies. "Debate and transparency and honesty about things is not bad. Thats open. Following the Liberal Party's defeat at the 2007 federal election, Robb put himself forward as a candidate for Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. Mr Cheng's company, Landbridge Group, was embroiled in controversy when it was awarded a 99-year lease over the port of Darwin. Neither has the fact that Mr Robb is being used to spruik a Chinese Communist Party-backed trade park as part of his consultancy agreement. he said. Redirecting funding to pet hobbies; offering jobs to the boys without a proper tender process; secretly bankrolling candidates in elections; taking up private sector jobs in apparent breach of parliaments code of ethics, the list goes on. Mr Robb, the architect of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, began consulting to Ye Cheng the day before the July 2 federal election in 2016, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. According to an official Chinese government statement, the park is designed to capitalise on the China Australia Free Trade Agreement as well as Mr Ye's purchase of the Darwin port. Politicising ASIOs annual threat assessment report, Defence Minister Peter Dutton said that China had; made a decision about who theyre going to back in the next federal election. The Landbridge Group was awarded a 99-year lease over the Port of Darwin last year in a $506 million deal with the Northern Territory Government that sparked concerns at the highest levels of the Australian Defence Force. Or does it just reinforce the fact that politicians take the public for mugs? Read more: No claim Robb breached code: Ryan Former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage said he was stunned that Australia had blind-sided its ally. And just last week, Landbridge (a private company, despite links to the Chinese Government) started official construction on a new $200 million luxury hotel on the Darwin waterfront. He is also a member of the national Chinese People's Consultative . Why did the NT lease Darwin Port to China? Chinese-owned company Landbridge has a 99-year lease over the Darwin Port. . Theyll copy it if anything. Andrew John Robb AO (born 20 August 1951) is an Australian former politician. Here's what they think of a Voice to Parliament, Soccer spectator accused of punching out teeth of referee in 'outrageous attack' refused bail, How Australia was left with only one deployable submarine, The late 2015 deal with Landbridge shocked the country and led to the most-asked question in the Curious series history, about why the NT decided to lease the port to a foreign company and how they got away with it, You can submit your questions on any topic at all, or vote on our next investigation, former United States president Barack Obama, who said he would have liked a heads up on the deal before it happened, Landbridge (a private company, despite links to the Chinese Government) started official construction on a new $200 million luxury hotel on the Darwin waterfront, Former federal trade minister Andrew Robb took an annual $880,000 job with Landbridge, about a "toxic" relationship between Australia and China that he blamed on former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and Australia's intelligence agencies, Everybody in the NT remembers the last time Darwin was caught in the middle of a conflict between the Americans and a rising Asian empire. Landbridge confirmed Mr Robbs departure. He was succeeded by Steven Ciobo as Minister of Trade and Investment on 18 February 2016. For some, it's the exercise of debt and debt collection.". Military-civilian integration was among the goals China set in its 13th five-year plan for 2016-20. Port Darwin. While the centre of US-Chinese tensions is the South China Sea where China has militarised reefs in disputed waters Darwin is important because it is the southern flank of US operations in the Pacific. By Leith van Onselen. But the Darwin port deal differs in significant ways to other . The federal government is considering scrapping a 99-year lease of Darwins port to a Chinese company, the latest point of tension in an increasingly chilly relationship between Canberra and Beijing. Darwin already has no less than six sister city arrangements, including with the Chinese city of Haikou. All Rights Reserved. In March, Mr Robb and Mr Ye travelled together to Sydney from China, where both attended a business and trade forum hosted by the Australian government, as part of Premier Li Keqiang's visit. The Landbridge group had been granted a 99-year lease on Port Darwin in 2015 during Robb's time as trade minister. Landbridge, a . Australias foreign investment review processes have been tightened. While he was Minister for Trade and Investment, Robb approved Chinese company Shandong Landbridge Group to lease Port Darwin for 99 years. Nine years of serving you has come to an end! This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. Mr Robb is one of several senior former Australian politicians who have been hired by or who hold roles funded by businesses or businessmen closely aligned to the Chinese Communist Party. [19][20] Landbridge Group is chaired by Ye Cheng, a billionaire with links to the Chinese Communist Party. This is what you need to know, Canberra grassland earless dragon headed for extinction as ACT government updates list of threatened species, Buses, ferries proposed as Hobart stadium transport fix, Live: MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo remembered for 'wicked sense of humour'. His time in this portfolio was marked by introducing a Citizenship discussion paper which encouraged public debate about whether Australia required a formal citizenship test. 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"We're the victim here, it's about time Andrew Robb and other Chinese apologists stop victim-blaming.". But others may have learnt valuable lessons too. The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers, Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe. Many of these grants were disproportionally awarded to marginal seats, with limited oversight and even less accountability. Regardless of the merits of the comment (which the boss of ASIO has dismissed as dangerous and divisive from Dutton), it hardly comes as a surprise that China might one someone else in power other than the party that has openly attacked and started trade wars with them. [7] Robb also focused on dealing with settlement issues for refugees and the challenges of multi-faith relations in Australia. "That model of developing other sites around the waterfront is part of the model that has been used in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Djibouti and other places," he said. Former trade minister Liberal MP Andrew Robb accepted an $880,000-a-year salary with Chinese billionaire Ye Chengs Landbridge Group immediately after quitting parliament. As with other Chinese port acquisitions, such as in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Greece and Djibouti, Landbridge is interested in acquiring and developing not only Darwins port facilities but nearby waterfront property. [15], In October 2016, it was announced that Robb had joined the Landbridge Group,[16][17] a Chinese company which had been granted a 99-year lease on Port Darwin in 2015, as a "high-level economic consultant". [1] In 2019, Robb left the position, shortly before a new foreign-interference law took effect.[2]. Despite pleas by non-political heads of our spy organisations, the government is today insisting on carrying on like they give a fuck about our national security. You get the drift of what behaviour this category captures. We recognise that their sovereignty has never been ceded. Murders of Andrew Robb and David McIlwaine, Minister for Vocational and Further Education, hired by Shandong Landbridge on a $880,000 per year salary, Learn how and when to remove this template message, JapanAustralia Economic Partnership Agreement, "Liberal Andrew Robb takes $880k China job as soon as he finishes in parliament", "Andrew Robb quits China-linked form before foreign interference law kicks in", "With memories of '93, the opposition readies the troops never to lose an unlosable election again", "ROBB: Andrew: Officer of the Order of Australia", "Liberals quietly go monarchist under Abbott", "Tony Abbott's cabinet and outer ministry", "Andrew Robb's secret China contract: money for nothing", "Andrew Robb unleashes over being targeted in foreign probe", "Robb joins Chinese company with control of Darwin Port", "Coalition defends Andrew Robb after revelation he started job while an MP", "ASIO warned politicians about taking cash from Huang Xiangmo, Chau Chak Wing", "China's 'invisible billionaire' the Port of Darwin's new owner", "Robb says work on a project in China was 'put in the bin' over toxic relations", "Investors keep The Boathouse Group afloat", "Coronavirus pandemic could trigger a spike in mental illness this organisation thinks psychedelic drugs will help", "Interview with Neil Mitchell, 3AW 693am: Andrew Robb MP - Federal Member for Goldstein", Andrew Robb profile on TheyVoteForYou.Org.Au, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andrew_Robb&oldid=1151969229, Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia, Members of the Australian House of Representatives, Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Goldstein, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, BLP articles lacking sources from August 2007, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 April 2023, at 10:13.
