The lease of the Port of Darwin has returned to the national spotlight – this time with bipartisan pledges to end Chinese company Landbridge Group’s 99-year control of the strategic asset.
Both the government and opposition now agree that the port should return to Australian-approved ownership. But amid duelling media appearances, radio call-ins and policy announcements, the process for how – and why – remains murky.
The Port of Darwin, leased in 2015 to Landbridge for $506 million, has since been caught in the crosshairs of shifting geopolitical priorities and intensifying scrutiny over foreign control of critical infrastructure.
Once considered a commercial opportunity under the federal government’s asset recycling scheme, it is now cited by both major parties as a potential national security vulnerability – despite a 2021 Defence review finding no grounds for intervention.
“A mistake was made many years ago in relation to the lease,” said Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who pledged that a Coalition government would secure a new operator within six months or compulsorily acquire the lease.
“We live in the most precarious period since the end of World War II… It’s appropriate that we take the actions that meet the pressures and the concerns and the threats of the time.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded in kind – albeit with more caution.
“We will enter into negotiations to do that… and if it reaches a point where the Commonwealth needs to directly intervene, then we’d be prepared to do that,” he told reporters.
Albanese said discussions with potential private buyers, including Australian superannuation funds, were already underway to minimise the cost to taxpayers.
Despite the policy alignment, the public debate has been marked by finger-pointing and political brinkmanship.
Dutton described the government’s actions as “too little, too late”, while Albanese criticised the original lease deal, blaming the Abbott government’s 2014 asset recycling incentives and calling the transaction “a mistake”.
Landbridge, for its part, maintains that the port is not for sale.
“There is no agreement or negotiation to sell the Port of Darwin,” said Landbridge Australia Non-Executive Director Terry O’Connor in March, following media speculation.
The strategic significance of the port – located adjacent to the Larrakeyah Defence Precinct and used regularly by the US Marine Rotational Force – has been amplified in recent months.
In February, three Chinese warships entered Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone, conducting live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea. A US nuclear-powered submarine docked in Darwin Harbour shortly after, intensifying the spotlight on Landbridge’s presence.
The Coalition has said the lease should be held only by entities not directly or indirectly controlled by foreign governments.
“It is vital that this piece of critical infrastructure… is operated by a trusted, Commonwealth-approved entity,” Dutton and Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie said in a joint statement.
Whether the port is ultimately reacquired through negotiation or compulsory acquisition, industry stakeholders are watching closely for operational clarity, cost implications, and long-term governance arrangements.
