by Lloyd's List
7 April 2025 (Lloyd's List) - THE Port of Darwin has become a key issue in the Australian election campaign after both major candidates said their parties would bring the port back under domestic ownership.
China-headquartered Landbridge Group was granted a 99-year lease in 2015 by the Northern Territory government, but its ownership has come under fire in recent months, thanks to concerns over financial health of the Landbridge Group.
Leader of the opposition Peter Dutton (also leader of the Liberal Party) said the coalition between the Liberals and National Party of Australia would “move immediately” to bring Darwin back into Australian hands during a visit to Darwin on April 5.
Dutton called the port a “strategic asset” and called the handing over of a 99-year lease in 2015 a mistake.
He said intelligence briefings he’d seen over the past few years had shown a deterioration of the geopolitical situation, highlighted by the circumnavigation of Australia by Chinese warships last month.
“There are about a hundred warships a year, Australian and allied warships, who go through this area and we need to make sure that with our partners we’re able to work constructively and in an environment which is conducive to our national security interests,” Dutton said.
The opposition leader said his party would use compulsory acquisition powers to take control of the port if necessary.
Seeking to get ahead of the opposition’s announcement, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese told ABC radio on April 4 that his government was looking for a private buyer for the port, though didn’t rule out direct government intervention should it be required to bring the port under Australian ownership.
The plans follow CK Hutchison’s sale of Hutchison Ports, which control the key ports of Balboa and Cristobal at either end of the Panama Canal.
Terry O’Connor, non-executive director for Landbridge in Australia, told ABC that his company had not had any discussion with the Australian Federal Government and reiterated that the Port of Darwin was not for sale.
