Good old Joe is at it again trying to flog Australian assets to
Chinese Government entities:
Treasurer Joe Hockey has flagged a more liberal approach to accepting investment by China’s state-owned enterprises in Australia just as the Business Council of Australia has outlined a series of potential changes to foreign investment law. Speaking at a conference in Sydney on Friday, Mr Hockey said the federal government had already shown it was open to SOE investment by recent decisions approving deals in the minerals and electricity industries. “If Australia is to take advantage of the opportunities presented, we will require additional capital. We need to make sure foreign investors continue to invest,” Mr Hockey said. “I want to reiterate that the government is very welcoming of Chinese investment, including investment by SOEs. Since I have come into government, I have approved a number of significant cases involving SOEs, which included proposals by StateGrid, Baosteel, Yanzhou and China Merchants, to name a few.
(Source: AFR 30th Aug 2014)
Perhaps he'll outsource management of The Treasury to The Chinese Communist Party next?
Allowing Chinese Communist Government entities to own our economically strategic entities such as power,
water and transport infrastructure is simply asking for trouble because if we run into a hitch with the Chinese
Government in trade or national/regional security, they are likely to use these assets as leverage. Furthermore
we knocked back a Chinese Government entity in supplying hardware and software for our NBN because
of spying risks. Have those risks evaporated in 18 months or is Mr Hockey desperate for money?
