Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will publicly release a review into the Chinese-leased Port of Darwin.
A defence review of the port conducted under the former Liberal government and handed to then defence minister Peter Dutton found no national security grounds to overturn the 99-year-lease to Chinese company Landbridge.
That review is being kept secret by the Department of Defence, the ABC is reporting, after a failed freedom of information request only led to the release of talking points handed to the former government.
The prime minister says the subsequent review will be made public.
“I have said that we will be reviewing the Darwin port ownership of the lease,” he told reporters on Monday.
“People would be aware that it was leased out to a company connected, very directly, with the government of the People’s Republic of China.
“I have asked for advice and when we receive it, we will make it public.”
The defence department also undertook a review of a Chinese company acquiring 50 per cent of shares in the Port of Newcastle back in March 2018 and found no concerns with the transaction.
It comes amid concerns over a heightened Chinese presence in the Indo-Pacific and more aggressive behaviour.
Australia has raised concerns about the prospect of a Chinese military presence in the Solomon Islands following the signing of a bilateral security pact.
Both China and the Solomon Islands deny that outcome.
There were also reports, again denied by Beijing, that China was seeking exclusive access to part of a strategic port in Cambodia.
