Morrison intervened in Australia Post awarding 4 watches but did absolutely nothing to stop Communist China taking over the military port of Darwin for an entire century. 

Scott Morrison told the media that in 2015 he could do nothing when the Northern Territory Country Liberal government leased the Port of Darwin to Communist China for a century.

Scott Morrison became treasurer in September 2015 in the new Turnbull government.Morrison was responsible for the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). As treasurer, Morrison became a member of the National Security Committee. This committee can make decisions that override cabinet.

Morrison's version: 'on the Port of Darwin issue that wasn’t a matter that came before the Federal Government for a decision. That was a matter that was decided by the Northern Territory Government. There was no FIRB approval because there was no FIRB assessment required'.

Morrison contradicted the NT government. 'Between July and October 2015, the bids were shortlisted, referred to the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and the ACCC'. Why is Morrison lying?

Morrison contradicted the defense minister. Marise Payne, said in a statement, 'Defense does not have security concerns about the lease of the port to Chinese interests'.

Morrison blamed the opposition. 'blaming the lack of scrutiny on investment laws introduced by the former Labor government'.

Prime Minister Turnbull was shocked by the deal. The deal came before the national security committee. Why is Scott Morrison airbrushing history and what is he trying to hide?  

They could have postponed the deal until the Foreign Acquisition and Takeovers Act had been amended. As owners of Darwin Port, Communist China now has inside information on 100 naval ship movements a year for a century. Why bother having a defense force when it's controlled by Beijing?

According to Scott Morrison, a territory of the Commonwealth could lease a strategically important military port to a hostile totalitarian regime, cripple our defense agreements with the US and allies, and the government could do nothing? That has to be a lie. 

In 2015 the ACT could lease Canberra Airport to North Korea and the government could do nothing?  

We are talking about a 'territory' here, the responsibility of the Commonwealth.

Habitually corrupt Morrison claims stopping a hostile foreign power from taking over a strategic Australian asset would break the law. This from the guy who devised 'sports rorts'and is covering-up a brutal rape, orgies, sex acts and male prostitution in his own government? The guy who invented robodebt? 

Then there is the role of Andrew Robb. Robb was on the payroll of Landbridge before he resigned as an MP. According to Morrison "Andrew Rodd is a person of the highest integrity. I’ve known him for a very long time. He’s our finest ever Trade Minister". Today Robb us using hallucinogenic drugs 50 years after the rest of his generation discovered them.That's as retarded as it gets.

Leasing Darwin Port was a political not a legal decision, made in Canberra not Darwin. It may have been pushed by Andrew Robb or an agent for Beijing in cabinet. Was that agent Scott Morrison? It appears to have been implemented by stealth in order to surprise Turnbull. 

Turnbull's position here was p1ss weak. Was he being played by the conservatives or were they holding something over him? 

How deeply was Morrison involved in selling the Port of Darwin? Were kickbacks paid or were donations made to the Liberal Party by Landbridge and the Communists? 

The Australian LNP government has a track record of systemic corruption. Morrison's net worth is estimated in the tens of millions. How much of that came from selling his country to totalitarian China?

https://www.insidetasmania.com/2021/05/scott-morrison-was-responsible-for.html

MEANWHILE:

by Michael Pascoe

Neither of the major parties came out of the weekend’s Port of Darwin farce well. Both played pathetic local politics with more than a touch of Trump about them, writes Michael Pascoe.

How embarrassing. Labor playing a very short-term political game has allowed itself to be wedged into another dumb “national security” decision.

And, pathetically, Labor thought it was being smart, getting its wedge-driven announcement out just before Dutton thanks to a Liberal leak, according to Niki Savva.

At least this one, promising to seize the Port of Darwin lease from its legitimate owner, isn’t as expensive as the half-trillion-dollar AUKUS debacle. (Nobody believes the subs will “only” end up costing $385 billion, if they ever happen.)

Albanese’s backflip embarrassment was at least tempered by the sight of Dutton also backflipping but with an additional pike and twist, given that he was a cabinet minister in the government that permitted the sale and voiced no need to overturn it in the decade since. Indeed, the Coalition Government paid the Northern Territory $20 million to encourage it to flog the thing.

And it was just 18 months ago that Albanese ruled out attempting to cancel the Darwin lease. In reality, there was no need to; nothing had changed since the full Defence Department security assessment of the deal in 2015, as detailed by then department head, Dennis Richardson – a bureaucrat from the days of broad experience and nuance.

What should be embarrassing for both sides is the Trumpy whiff around their stunt, just when everything Trump is rank, smelling to heaven.

Trump lashed Panama with his usual mix of lies, falsehoods and grievance, claiming without basis that China controls the canal and that the US would take it back.

Nek minnit, billionaire BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is on the phone to the White House and landing the biggest single infrastructure deal yet for the world’s biggest asset manager, the one with $19 trillion worth on its books and a nice line of tax minimisation. (Yes, poor little weak preyed-upon America.)

Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison, the company that operated the ports at either end of the canal, could take a hint although the sale displeased Beijing through its loss of face.

So, what little mates might Labor and the LNP be lining up for Darwin in a forced sale by Landbridge? Does anyone have Mr Fink’s number, or has he already been on the line? Anyone for “sovereign risk”? And how much compensation will taxpayers be up for if it goes to court? Landbridge has immediately stated the port is not for sale.

The politics are especially cheap by the LNP. Slipping in the polls, Dutton suddenly needs to beat up a “national security” issue, one of the conservatives’ traditional polling strengths when failing, with a bit of “Chinah” bashing implied.

On second thought, no, Labor’s politics are even cheaper. It is the government. It is responsible for our commonwealth. An opposition trying to get elected can be expected to say anything. Those sitting on the Treasury benches have the benefit of incumbency, but also the restraints of actual power.

The Darwin announcement stupidly apes the international joke that is the  American president determined to bifurcate the world and damage China, our most important partner. With this stunt,

Dutton and Albanese have shown how small their world is, how limited their vision.

The US has proven unreliable on trade, on climate, and on security. Its treaties and agreements are worthless, making our relationships with the rest of the world much more important. As the US opens the door for Chinese regional leadership, it is not the time to pointlessly insult China.

Dutton has form in that regard. Overlooked everywhere but here, it was Dutton as the blabbermouth Home Affairs Minister who first threw the “China must come clean” barbs over COVID that quickly escalated into trade barriers, displaying all the diplomacy of, well, Peter Dutton.

The Port of Darwin is a simple concrete thing. Nothing has changed about it since Dennis Richardson’s testimony, as the ABC reported, “Mr Richardson appeared before a parliamentary inquiry to give a detailed explanation of how Defence considered the implications of the lease, in the run-up to his decision to advise Treasury that Defence had no objection to the move. He said Defence assessed the risks of a shutdown or sabotage, cyber attacks, the port being used for intelligence gathering or stealing intellectual property.”

We did our due diligence very carefully over an extended period of time in respect of the Port of Darwin.

“Nothing that has been said since the announcement has given us pause for thought.” Richardson also revealed he ordered a special review of the Landbridge deal after security experts in Australia raised espionage concerns following the announcement, “After a couple of weeks of it I personally thought, ‘gee, have we missed something?”.

But he said intelligence agencies backed his initial assessment, “The written advice I received on that was that there were no significant implications and it was fine.”

Mr Richardson rubbished concerns from security analysts that the deal could give the Chinese navy access to the port as “alarmist nonsense” and “simply absurd,” and he continued, “The visit of foreign naval vessels anywhere around the world requires diplomatic clearance and that power resides within the Federal Government.”

Mr Richardson said consultations were carried out at the highest levels of government, including the National Security Committee of Cabinet, which was when a review was ordered into laws that allow states to sell strategic assets without scrutiny from the Foreign Investment Review Board.

The port remains a simple concrete thing. Nothing about it has changed, just the imperatives of weak local politicians prepared to put Australia’s best interests second to their own shallow ambitions.

https://michaelwest.com.au/politics-trumps-national-interest-labor-wedged-over-port-of-darwin-farce/

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