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sptrawler said:
The federal and Northern Territory governments are in discussion about a deal that would see the Port of Darwin returned to Australian hands.

Sky News understands the federal and Northern Territory governments have been in discussion since December and that LandBridge would be willing to potentially sell the port back.

Click to expand...
About time. it was stupidly sold to them in Tony Abbotts time in 2015. Taken a new government and 10 years to act!!!
 
Knobby22 said:
About time. it was stupidly sold to them in Tony Abbotts time in 2015. Taken a new government and 10 years to act!!!
Click to expand...
Here is a good article on the history.

'A seriously dumb idea': Why did the NT lease Darwin's port to China?

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. It's the most-asked Curious Darwin question, so we look at how the port sale propelled the sleepy territory into a geopolitical brawl...
www.abc.net.au
From the article:

How did it get through FIRB and Defence?​

A 2016 Senate committee revealed that while the Foreign Investment Review Board had been contacted to look at the deal, it ultimately didn't formally investigate because, at the time, there was an exemption from scrutiny of a deal like this because it involved a private company and a state or territory government.

The head of FIRB admitted the entire process had undermined public confidence, failed to show a balance between economic gain and national security concerns and was finalised on an "ad-hoc" basis.

The committee called for greater transparency in the decision-making process and for more details to be publicly disclosed, and its report stated the NT Government failed to answer key questions around the details of the port deal to the committee's satisfaction.

The rules were ultimately changed to not let this happen again.

FIRB chairman Brian Wilson told the committee he had become aware of the deal in late 2014 and asked for a response from Defence and intelligence agencies a few times in 2015, but was repeatedly told that Defence had no issue with the deal.

It was also later revealed that the Defence officials were only middle management, and that senior figures and the Minister of Defence only learned of the deal hours before the NT government announced it publicly.
"It was an inexcusable stuff-up by the federal government and various departments, but that doesn't excuse the NT government making this parochial, stupid decision in the first place,"
Click to expand...
Mr James said.
"You can't mortgage the strategic security of 25 million — and in the future more Australians — just to make a quick buck for a local political problem you have at the time, and then lie about it, and lie about it consistently in your supposed defence of it.

"You may well find that future generations of Australians reading Australian history books will have the most scathing judgments about the idiocy of the decision-making.

"It's quite possible many decades in the future if there is a serious war, where this becomes a serious problem for us, people will wonder whether the decision wasn't just a stupid one, but whether the people doing it hadn't looked seriously at the concept and laws surrounding treachery."

Back in mid-December, when the current Labor Government was trying to explain how the NT was in the middle of a full-blown financial crisis that sees it borrowing $4 million a day to keep operating, Jodie Ryan was asked in a briefing what happened to the $506 million the NT received for the port.

She said it was put into general revenue and spent. It's long gone, with less than 96 years left.
 
sptrawler said:
Here is a good article on the history.

'A seriously dumb idea': Why did the NT lease Darwin's port to China?

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. It's the most-asked Curious Darwin question, so we look at how the port sale propelled the sleepy territory into a geopolitical brawl...
www.abc.net.au
From the article:

How did it get through FIRB and Defence?​

A 2016 Senate committee revealed that while the Foreign Investment Review Board had been contacted to look at the deal, it ultimately didn't formally investigate because, at the time, there was an exemption from scrutiny of a deal like this because it involved a private company and a state or territory government.

The head of FIRB admitted the entire process had undermined public confidence, failed to show a balance between economic gain and national security concerns and was finalised on an "ad-hoc" basis.

The committee called for greater transparency in the decision-making process and for more details to be publicly disclosed, and its report stated the NT Government failed to answer key questions around the details of the port deal to the committee's satisfaction.

The rules were ultimately changed to not let this happen again.

FIRB chairman Brian Wilson told the committee he had become aware of the deal in late 2014 and asked for a response from Defence and intelligence agencies a few times in 2015, but was repeatedly told that Defence had no issue with the deal.

It was also later revealed that the Defence officials were only middle management, and that senior figures and the Minister of Defence only learned of the deal hours before the NT government announced it publicly.

Mr James said.
"You can't mortgage the strategic security of 25 million — and in the future more Australians — just to make a quick buck for a local political problem you have at the time, and then lie about it, and lie about it consistently in your supposed defence of it.

"You may well find that future generations of Australians reading Australian history books will have the most scathing judgments about the idiocy of the decision-making.

"It's quite possible many decades in the future if there is a serious war, where this becomes a serious problem for us, people will wonder whether the decision wasn't just a stupid one, but whether the people doing it hadn't looked seriously at the concept and laws surrounding treachery."

Back in mid-December, when the current Labor Government was trying to explain how the NT was in the middle of a full-blown financial crisis that sees it borrowing $4 million a day to keep operating, Jodie Ryan was asked in a briefing what happened to the $506 million the NT received for the port.

She said it was put into general revenue and spent. It's long gone, with less than 96 years left.
Click to expand...
Country Liberal party were in power in NT in 2015.
 
Knobby22 said:
Country Liberal party were in power in NT in 2015.
Click to expand...
Yes the whole idea was a disaster, hopefully never to be repeated, it will be interesting to see how much we have to pay to bail them out.

The Government has been very good about it, they are bailing out Victoria's rail disaster also, from memory.
State's maybe need to take a lot more care, on their decisions. ;)

W.A can't always drag them out of the manure. 😂
 
sptrawler said:
The federal and Northern Territory governments are in discussion about a deal that would see the Port of Darwin returned to Australian hands.

Sky News understands the federal and Northern Territory governments have been in discussion since December and that LandBridge would be willing to potentially sell the port back.

Click to expand...
@sptrawler should never have been sold off in the first place.
The gateway to Australia and we don't have control.
The mind boggles.
 
I came across the above website when I was checking out another story I was following.

Elon Musk targeted me over Tesla protests. That proves our movement is working​

Valerie Costa

I’ve always believed the people are powerful. Now we know the world’s richest man does too
Thu 13 Mar 2025 20.00 AEDT


On Saturday morning, I woke up to a nightmare of notifications. On Sunday, it got worse. Elon Musk had tweeted and amplified inflammatory lies about me and Tesla Takedown, a growing national grassroots movement peacefully protesting at Tesla showrooms that I’m proudly a part of. Musk tweeted: “Costa is committing crimes.”

As a longtime local activist and organizer in Seattle, I’m accustomed to some conflict with powerful forces. The intention of the Tesla Takedown movement is to make a strong public stand against the tech oligarchy behind the Trump administration’s cruel and illegal actions, and to encourage Americans to sell their Teslas and dump the company’s stock. Protests like these – peaceful, locally organized, and spreading across the world – are at the heart of free speech in a democracy and a cornerstone of US political traditions. So it’s telling that the response from so-called “free speech absolutist” Musk has been to single out individuals – and spread lies about us and our movement. The harassment that has followed his post has been frightening.

It’s also proof that the Tesla Takedown campaign is working.
I’d like to address the lies spread about me by the world’s richest man and X users. I have not committed any crimes. I have not been funded by ActBlue, or by George Soros – that name is simply a tired antisemitic dog whistle. I’m not inspired by Luigi Mangione nor have I ever said that I am. I am not encouraging any vandalism. Nobody is getting paid to come to these protests. I am not the leader of Tesla Takedown. In fact, no one is.

Elon Musk targeted me over Tesla protests. That proves our movement is working

I’ve always believed the people are powerful. Now we know the world’s richest man does too
www.theguardian.com
 
The headlines say it all. 😂

French Politician Says Statue Of Liberty Should Be Returned, US Responds

Raphael Glucksmann recently said that France should take back the iconic statue, arguing that the US no longer upholds the values that inspired France to gift the monument.
www.ndtv.com


Karoline Leavitt says French ‘should be grateful they’re not speaking German’ after calls for Statue of Liberty to be returned - Bing

Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.
www.bing.com
 
This sounds like serious drugs.

Lethal synthetic opioids found in Australian wastewater

Deadly synthetic opioids have been detected in Australian wastewater for the first time, according to an international survey led by UQ researchers.
www.uq.edu.au


"Two nitazene variants – protonitazene and etonitazepyne – were found at 5 separate sites in Australia and the United States," Dr Bade said.

"The levels we found in Australia were significantly higher than those identified in the United States which is quite concerning.

“Protonitazene is about three times as strong as fentanyl, which has driven an overdose crisis in North America in the last decade, while etonitazepyne is 40 times more powerful.’’

Of nearly 700 wastewater samples gathered by scientists in 68 locations across 22 countries, traces of nitazenes were found in Australia and the United States.

Dr Bade said the Australian results did not correlate with any other data sources which could mean the detected drugs were a result direct disposal, not consumption.

“We are leaning more towards direct disposal, but it still meant nitazenes were in Australia,’’ Dr Bade said.
 
sptrawler said:
The headlines say it all. 😂

French Politician Says Statue Of Liberty Should Be Returned, US Responds

Raphael Glucksmann recently said that France should take back the iconic statue, arguing that the US no longer upholds the values that inspired France to gift the monument.
www.ndtv.com


Karoline Leavitt says French ‘should be grateful they’re not speaking German’ after calls for Statue of Liberty to be returned - Bing

Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.
www.bing.com
Click to expand...
Epitomizes the juvenile level of politics in Europe ATM :2twocents:
 
left wing loonies, making a political statement, at someone else's expense as usual.

MSN

www.msn.com

Protesters lob molotov cocktails and open fire on Teslas at Las Vegas service centre​


Five Tesla cars were set on fire and shot at in an arson attack at a Tesla service center in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the early morning of Tuesday, March 18, police said
 
7.7 quake in Myanmar 1200 km away collapsed this in Bangkok. Lots of other pics and vids coming through as well 😲

 
wayneL said:
7.7 quake in Myanmar 1200 km away collapsed this in Bangkok. Lots of other pics and vids coming through as well 😲

Click to expand...

" In Bangkok, at least three people were killed in the building collapse and 90 were missing, according to Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai. ...
.. The building was being built by the China Railway Construction Corporation for Thailand’s government auditor general.
 


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