A decade on from the port privatisation, did the city get bang for buck?

The Port of Newcastle, pictured here in the wake of the flooding in March 2021, remains the largest coal port in the world. Picture supplied by Port Authority of NSW

It's been a decade since the Port of Newcastle was privatised, with a 98-year lease handed over to a Chinese-owned entity in exchange for $1.75 billion - a decision which raised plenty of eyebrows at the time.

Although the community's collective eyebrows have returned to their usual position in the 10 years following the deal, there are issues that still linger in the background.