27 Apr 2023 00:13:32 We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. "I was approached two months after I finished in parliament and certainly about four or five months after I'd finished in cabinet and the [Landbridge] chairman said to me, 'would you consider coming and doing some work for me?' Mr Robb has confirmed that he has left Landbridge for the time being because, "at this stage, Landbridge has no other projects relevant for me to assist". "I had been commissioned by Landbridge for well over a year to prepare a comprehensive report on ways that Australia's world class health industry could assist with a major improvement of China's public health system," Mr Robb wrote in answer to questions. Robb was also a board member of community organisations including the Garvan Medical Research Foundation and the 'Big Brothers Big Sisters' organisation. One of Mr Ye's companies later produced lobbying material in Mr Robb's name in which the former trade minister described the Rizhao trade park as a project that "advances the objectives in the historic (CHAFTA) accord [that] I was honoured to play a significant role" while trade minister. Now not so much. Landbridge head Ye Cheng, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and then trade envoy Andrew Robb in Beijing in April 2016. Claiming that greenhouse gas emissions have gone down when the facts clearly show otherwise; breaking the law on responding to FoI requests; reneging on promised legislation; claiming credit for legislation that doesnt exist; accepting donations that breach rules. Many Curious Darwin readers asked how Mr Robb was . You get the drift of what behaviour this category captures. His time in this portfolio was marked by introducing a Citizenship discussion paper which encouraged public debate about whether Australia required a formal citizenship test. Mr Robb, who quit as a minister in Malcolm Turnbull's government before the last election, previously denied working on behalf of Beijing, and defended his contract with Landbridge, saying he was not doing business in Australia, so could not be captured by the new scheme. When those loans come payable and the countries can't cover the debt, China assumes control of those infrastructure assets. Ye Cheng, of Landbridge, and then trade minister Andrew Robb in 2015. Thank you for your very kind wishes! Mr Robb's job with Landbridge commenced on July 1, 2016, according to a Four Corners Fairfax Media 2017 joint investigation. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review. It is backed by the Communist Party-controlled Rizhao City Government in partnership with Mr Ye. Lobbyists have until March 1 to register, although government sources have acknowledged that enforcing the scheme may be difficult given the lack of legal precedent surrounding its operation and the likelihood that some potential registrants will argue it does not apply to them. "We're the victim here, it's about time Andrew Robb and other Chinese apologists stop victim-blaming.". He was Honorary Finance Director for the NSW Division of the Liberal Party and a member of the NSW State Executive. [19][20] Landbridge Group is chaired by Ye Cheng, a billionaire with links to the Chinese Communist Party. Landbridge, a . Were working to restore it. "Oh, that was like 7 years ago," said Dutton about Former Trade Minister Andrew Robb's advocacy to give Chinese company Landbridge a 99-year lease to the Port of Darwin. Local government officials love signing such deals. But the fear of angering China has weighed heavily on Australian-elected officials, with the greatest fear coming in the form of economic sanctions. Mr Ye frames much of his business activity, including the acquisition of the Port of Darwin lease, in terms of advancing Beijing's ambitious global trade and infrastructure project "One Belt, One Road". It will take quite a lot of adjustment in the UK for them to remove a lot of the assistance and protection for many of the agricultural products Its going to require a will on their part that hasnt existed,. "It's probably too late to do anything. Barnaby Joyce has called on former trade minister Andrew Robb to answer questions on his role with Landbridge - leasee of the Darwin port - as former top US intelligence chief James Clapper . It is a far cry from the debt-trap colonialism China stands accused of using to gain leverage over other foreign governments, such as Sri Lanka and Nepal. The former trade minister Andrew Robb did not talk to Malcolm Turnbull before taking on his role as an economic consultant with the Chinese company that operates the Darwin port.. Landbridge signed a $506m agreement with the Northern Territory government in October last year for a 99-year lease of the port.. Robb's consultancy was reportedly announced by the Landbridge Group on 2 September . [27], The following week, Robb said in an interview with 3AW's Neil Mitchell that he had found "doing things increasingly more difficult, I could be taking on more responsibilities especially in a public sense and decided to confront it a few weeks ago. Former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage said he was stunned that Australia had blind-sided its ally. In 2004, he was comfortably elected to the safe Liberal seat of Goldstein in Melbourne and was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs on 27 January 2006. Mr Robb, the architect of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, began consulting to Ye Cheng the day before the July 2 federal election in 2016, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); With access to over 4 million readers per month, and often more, we provide opportunities to add value to different brands across the country who are interested. Robb approved Chinese company Shandong Landbridge Group to lease Port Darwin for 99 years. Write an article and join a growing community of more than 163,400 academics and researchers from 4,609 institutions. . Mr Robb had announced months earlier he would not recontest his seat of Goldstein. "That's what made it worse, a local government in the NT made such a silly decision that risked the freedom and strategic security of Australians over the next hundred years or when China democratises.". Andrew Robb, Martin Ferguson, Peter Reith and Stephen Conroy are among the former ministers who swiftly took jobs as lobbyists Thu 27 Jun 2019 14.00 EDT Last modified on Thu 27 Jun 2019 21.35 EDT According to Morrison "Andrew Rodd is a person of the highest integrity. [14], Robb is a board member of the Kidman cattle enterprise and the Network Ten television station. Former trade minister Andrew Robb AO has told delegates at Red Meat that Asia and, in particular China, is where Australia must focus for future red meat export opportunities. Another Robb entity is facing (in mid 2019) a wind-up motion from the Commissioner of Taxation over unpaid taxes. He served as Minister for Trade and Investment (20132016) in the Abbott and Turnbull governments, and also briefly as Minister for Vocational and Further Education in the Howard government in 2007. Mr Robb had announced months earlier he would not recontest his seat of Goldstein. Copyright 20102023, The Conversation US, Inc. An Australian Border Force Cape-class patrol boat docked at the Darwin port. Of course it's not our fault. What about Andrew Robb? That potential is a long way off. "We had our deputy prime minister last year stand up in front of a Channel 9 TV camera and say, 'I want all Australians to know that ISIS is not our security threat, China is our security threat'; this is irresponsible," Mr Robb said. Australia Defence Association executive director Neil James agreed. Charles Darwin University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU. "Andrew has said he's aware of the ministerial code of conduct and he'll abide by it," she said. I've known him for a very long time. Andrew Robb takes role with Chinese company that operates Darwin port Read more Brandis on Wednesday tried to assuage Robb, saying his former colleague needn't be concerned about the crackdown. If Landbridge was to default, it would lose its money. He is the Chairman of Asialink and CNSDose, and a strategic advisor to Beef Innovations Australia, as well as a range of national and international businesses. The was not without its controversy - even before Australia-China relations soured, as Andrew Robb, a former minister for trade, took an $880,000 consultancy position with the Chinese group immediately following his exit from politics in 2016. In February 2016, Andrew Robb quit his role as Australia's trade minister having just finalised the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement. Weaknesses in Australian governments at all levels have been revealed. In this role Mr Robb negotiated Free Trade Agreements with South Korea, Japan and China, as well as the 12 country Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement and the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Singapore. In March, Mr Robb and Mr Ye travelled together to Sydney from China, where both attended a business and trade forum hosted by the Australian government, as part of Premier Li Keqiang's visit. Robb only left his position at Landbridge in 2019, shortly before a new foreign-interference law took effect. They must also ensure their personal conduct upholds the reputation of Parliament. The strategic risk can be managed, Mr James added, but never completely eliminated, and managing it will cost the Government. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. He is also a member of the national Chinese People's Consultative Committee, an advisory body that President Xi Jinping has directed to "uphold the CPC [Chinese Communist Party] leadership without wavering". Neither has the fact that Mr Robb is being used to spruik a Chinese Communist Party-backed trade park as part of his consultancy agreement. Chinas strategy is very long-term. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2016, representing the Liberal Party. Darwin already has no less than six sister city arrangements, including with the Chinese city of Haikou. The irony is that while at a political level our relationship is facing some difficulties, at a commercial level our relationship has never been better. Many of these grants were disproportionally awarded to marginal seats, with limited oversight and even less accountability. and back in 2016, when former trade minister Andrew Robb was enjoying his $880,000 a year consulting contract with Landbridge, . Robb remained a member of . Mr Katter's opposition to the Port of Darwin sale - Were working to restore it. There are endless opportunities in Northern Australia; the trick is to have government truly engaged as a partner in attracting the critical investment dollars. The trade park being spruiked in Mr Robb's name is to be built in Rizhao, a thriving port city between Beijing and Shanghai. But others may have learnt valuable lessons too. All Rights Reserved. The upcoming federal election would be the time to have it, he added, but questions from the ABC to Prime Minister Scott Morrison's office about the Darwin Port and Chinese influence went unanswered. As a small, open economy international trade and foreign investment has been critical to providing jobs and prosperity by Australians since European settlement over 200 years ago. The ABC reported it had obtained and translated a . Ms McKenzie was chief of staff to Andrew Robb when he was the Liberal government's trade, investment and tourism minister. The territory government retains a 20% stake in the port operator and has a say in key appointments such as the chief executive and chief financial officer. Back then it was criticised over national security implications, and drew a rebuke from former US president Barack Obama. Ultimately, he said the move was all about soft power and influence. "It involves the use of soft-power networks, influence over politicians on all sorts of levels, from local levels right up to the top.". [4] All above board, maybe, but does it really pass the pub test? In this capacity Robb worked with the next Leader of the Liberal Party, John Hewson, in the unsuccessful 1993 federal election campaign. "He's now saying that any criticisms of improper Chinese behaviour attempting to influence our political system is our fault. The Chinese company that upset the defence establishment by buying the Port of Darwin is looking for oil and gas acquisitions in Northern Australia to boost trade through the commercial port. Mr Robb is one of several senior former Australian politicians who have been hired by or who hold roles funded by businesses or businessmen closely aligned to the Chinese Communist Party. Landbridge says if it happens then itll spike sovereign risk. Then trade minister Andrew Robb is congratulated after he concluded the second reading debate on the China - Australia Free Trade Agreement in 2015.Credit: Andrew Meares. Australias foreign investment review processes have been tightened. Nine years of serving you has come to an end! But company records reveal that Andrew Robb Pty Ltd . Charles Darwin University academic John Garrick has been researching China's international strategic actions, and said the Commonwealth Government doesn't really have a leg to stand on if they want to take the lease of the port back now. Mr Ye frames much of his business activity, including the acquisition of the Port of Darwin lease, in terms of advancing Beijing's ambitious global trade and infrastructure policy "One Belt, One Road". Former trade minister Andrew Robb, who . Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. Robb and Hewson fell out over these events. I thought everyone had forgotten about that.. "Working for Landbridge Group was a wonderful and pleasing thing, and that he wanted to jointly write a wonderful new chapter together with Landbridge," the statement added. Leasing Darwin Port was a political not a legal decision, made in Canberra not Darwin. This website is dedicated to the public interest. However, ASIO boss Mike Burgess and former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson have both come out to say that there is no foreign interference within the Australian Labor Party, and sensationalist comments from the likes of Dutton and Morrison do more damage than actual foreign interference in our democracy. As . In a ballot of Liberal caucus members, Julie Bishop prevailed with 44 votes, ahead of Robb who won 25 votes and Christopher Pyne with 18 votes. Andrew Robb today completely rejected the assertions and innuendo made in a piece of gutter journalism in the Sunday Age newspaper. Following the Liberal Party's defeat at the 2007 federal election, Robb put himself forward as a candidate for Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. This comes despite the fact they sold one of our most strategically positioned ports to a Chinese company with close links to the Chinese Communist Party in 2015. When questioned about his involvement with Landbridge, Mr Robb said in a statement: I can confirm that I fully understand my responsibilities as a former member of cabinet, and I can also confirm that I have, at all times, acted in accordance with those responsibilities.. He's got a global strategy for his company and he wants me to help him outside of Australia more than he wants me to help him inside Australia.". Kishor is a federal politics reporter for Crikey, based in the Canberra press gallery. Soft power goes hard: China's economic interest in the Pacific comes with strings attached. The details of the consultancy have never been disclosed by Mr Ye or Mr Robb. The Crikey comment section is members-only content. Liberal Andrew Robb took $880k China job as soon as he left Parliament. Former LNP Trade Minister Andrew Robb profited enormously from the port deal Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, MHR has warned the federal Government to tear up the Port of Darwin lease with its Chinese owners, arguing that a "review" will achieve nothing but waste time. It invites reflection on the wisdom, three years ago, of the Northern Territory government deciding to lease the Port of Darwin (now known as Darwin Port) to a Chinese company for 99 years and of the federal government going along with it. The Landbridge Group was awarded a 99-year lease over the Port of Darwin last year in a $506 million deal with the Northern Territory Government that sparked concerns at the highest levels of the Australian Defence Force. While the leasing of Port of Darwin to Chinese firm Landbridge by the Northern Territory government in 2015 raised national security fears at the time, . The $506 million the Northern Territory Government was paid for a 99-year lease of the Darwin Port by Chinese company Landbridge is long gone, but Australians' feelings of unease remain. They have been reactive, readily accepting the lure of pearls cast on our shores without considering longer-term currents. Shandong Landbridge has substantial and varied interests including port logistics and petrochemicals. "Australia-China political relations had "turned to custard" and . John Garrick does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers, Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe. Yet risk exposure may take other forms. Mr Ye plans to build a second trade park in Darwin. READ MORE ABOUT BLACK DOG DAZE, CLICK HERE. Now not so much. But attention has been drawn to Darwins newly minted friendship deal with Yuexiu District, in Guangzhou, due to Chinese media describing it as part of President Xi Jinpings signature Belt and Road Initiative. Dr Garrick said Australia needed to get over its fear and be aware of Chinese strategies, suggesting it was necessary to engage in a public debate about China's wielding of power and influence in Australia. Mr Robb was reported to have pocketed more than $2 million plus expenses in his time. All levels of Australian government have encouraged it. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. Crikey acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the many nations across Australia, and pay our respect to Elders past and present. It would leave our ability to operate in doubt. 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Glenn Campbell. Landbridge Australia reported a loss of A$31 million for the 2017 financial year, with its total borrowings rising to A$463 million. Landbridge head Ye Cheng, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and then trade envoy Andrew Robb in Beijing in April 2016. The delegation was lobbied by Rizhao Communist Party deputy secretary Liu Xingtai to support the trade park as part of a "Two Countries, Two Parks" proposal. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Mr Robb's consultancy with the leaseholder of the Darwin Port, Landbridge, was trumpeted by the Chinese-government aligned company in 2016, but became intensely controversial when an . The risks of a new Cold War between the US and China are real: here's why. Yes, in breaking through we have got a little bloodied, but our efforts were not in vain, and they must not be in vain. Mr James said Mr Robb's comments seemed to be made to advance the position of the Chinese business interests he served. Mr Robb resigned as trade minister in February, before leaving Parliament at this year's election. Mr Cheng's company, Landbridge Group, was embroiled in controversy when it was awarded a 99-year lease over the port of Darwin. Landbridge Australia, a subsidiary of Shandong Landbridge, won the 99-year lease with its bid of A$506 million in November 2015. In this role Mr Robb negotiated Free Trade Agreements with South Korea, Japan and China, as well as the 12 country Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement and the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Singapore. Here's what they think of a Voice to Parliament, Soccer spectator accused of punching out teeth of referee in 'outrageous attack' refused bail, How Australia was left with only one deployable submarine, The late 2015 deal with Landbridge shocked the country and led to the most-asked question in the Curious series history, about why the NT decided to lease the port to a foreign company and how they got away with it, You can submit your questions on any topic at all, or vote on our next investigation, former United States president Barack Obama, who said he would have liked a heads up on the deal before it happened, Landbridge (a private company, despite links to the Chinese Government) started official construction on a new $200 million luxury hotel on the Darwin waterfront, Former federal trade minister Andrew Robb took an annual $880,000 job with Landbridge, about a "toxic" relationship between Australia and China that he blamed on former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and Australia's intelligence agencies, Everybody in the NT remembers the last time Darwin was caught in the middle of a conflict between the Americans and a rising Asian empire. "Rather than being xenophobic about this, we need to be alive to the commercial deals that are being done and what might come later," Dr Garrick said. In 1990, after Andrew Peacock's resignation after his election defeat, Robb was appointed federal director of the Liberal Party. It was a decision that baffled everyone from NT locals to Barack Obama, a strategic asset lease that slipped past the Foreign Investment Review Board and Defence. Following a front-bench re-shuffle in March 2010, Robb was appointed Shadow Minister for Finance, Deregulation and Debt Reduction, a post previously held by Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce, and chairman of the Coalition Policy Development Committee. The company knows how to cultivate political connections. Dr Garrick said the luxury hotel project was a further extension of the interests of the group, "an entrenchment of their strategic positions", given its location on the waterfront, right next to Parliament House and Government House. But it will not share any profit that Landbridge may eventually make. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop defended Mr Robb's decision, telling the ABC he should be allowed to have a post-Parliament career. The Northern Territory government has signed a $506m agreement with a Chinese based group for a 99-year lease of the Darwin port, . [3] Robb was still federal director when internal Liberal party negative polling was leaked to Kerry O'Brien on Lateline in May 1994 who embarrassed John Hewson with it and lead to Hewson's calling a leadership spill where he lost the leadership to Alexander Downer. You can submit your questions on any topic at all, or vote on our next investigation. Oh, that was like 7 years ago, said Dutton about Former Trade Minister Andrew Robbs advocacy to give Chinese company Landbridge a 99-year lease to the Port of Darwin. In cases like Sri Lanka, China offered loans to build infrastructure. [23], As of 2020, Robb serves as a director on the board of Mind Medicine Australia,[24] a not-for-profit organisation which promotes the introduction of psychedelic treatments for mental illnesses. In December 2017, then Attorney-General George Brandis suggested that Mr Robb would have to sign up to the new register. That is obvious. At the time, Mr Robb had already been working for Mr Ye for eight weeks, and had earned $146,000, including GST but minus expenses. he said. Mr Ye is the owner of Landbridge, which controversially acquired the 99-year lease for the Port of Darwin in . Until his recent retirement from politics, Andrew Robb was Australia's Minister for Trade, Investment and Tourism. The Turnbull Government has declined to say when it became aware of the appointment. Dont pay so you can read it. Port Darwin. Military-civilian integration was among the goals China set in its 13th five-year plan for 2016-20. Two years after clinching a historic free trade deal with Beijing, former trade minister Andrew Robb has become a "high-level economic consultant" with the Chinese company that now operates Darwin Port. It ended with the city being decimated 77 short years ago. The statement also said deputy secretary Liu had met Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and NT Chief Minister Adam Giles on April 14, 2016, and "proposed the co-operative model of Two Countries, Two Parks". Fairfax Media and Four Corners are not suggesting that Mr Robb has breached his obligations as an ex-minister. As soon as he left politics, Robb was hired by Shandong Landbridge on a $880,000 per year salary. "Debate and transparency and honesty about things is not bad. "The proposal has been fully recognised and highly affirmed by the Shandong Province Party Committee, the Provincial Government and the Department of Commerce," the Chinese government statement said. Hearing senior Treasury staff describe the Northern Territory's budget as being in "dire straits" is the bureaucratic equivalent to saying, "we're stuffed". He added that former minister Andrew Robb also took on a lucrative consulting job with Landbridge after he . As soon as he left politics, Robb was hired by Shandong Landbridge on a $880,000 per year salary. Senior Lecturer, Business Law, Charles Darwin University.
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