THE HON ANDREW HASTIE MP
Shadow Minister for Defence

SENATOR SIMON BIRMINGHAM
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate

SENATOR JAMES PATERSON
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs
Shadow Minister for Cyber Security

JOINT STATEMENT ON THE PORT OF DARWIN

Friday 20 October 2023

The Government’s release of its decision not to cancel the Port of Darwin lease, without standing up and explaining the decision, is an appalling display of weak leadership by the Prime Minister.

An outcome of any major national security review should warrant, at the very least, an announcement by the Prime Minister who, until now, has not shied away from commenting on the Port of Darwin, calling the initial Northern Territory decision to undertake the lease “a grave error of judgement”.

Having tried to be a pre-election hero promising a review, he is now sweeping his decision under the rug and hiding behind a departmental media release, sent out on a Friday afternoon.

Anthony Albanese has proven, once again, that he is out of his depth when it comes to national security, too weak to even justify his own decision – he simply cannot be trusted.

The Opposition is calling on the Prime Minister to stand up and explain why he is comfortable with his decision given his previous criticism of the lease.

[ENDS]