The Australian government has made a preliminary ruling to block the potential sale of a 50.4 per cent stake in New South Wales network operator Ausgrid to a Chinese state owned consortium, citing national security issues.
“When we assess these applications – and I stress we do this on every case, case by case, and we pursue the national security issues to the nth degree as I said on the weekend, and that’s what we’ve done,” Morrison told reporters.
“That process has not enabled us to identify suitable mitigations to protect against the national security issues in this case. And that, at the end of the day, is paramount.”
Ausgrid supplies power to parts of Sydney, Wollongong and the Hunter region.
NW Treasurer Gladys Berekjiklian expressed surprise at the move, saying that the federal government had raised no concerns when potential bidders were identified earlier in the sales process.
She said it was an asset that had attracted a lot of interest. “There is a lot of interest out there … the proceeds of this sale will be banked in the next budget.”
Morrison said foreign investment was welcome in Australia, and promised the government would “actively engage” with the rest of the world, “ because foreign investment capital is important to Australian jobs”.
He has given the parties until August 18 to produce arguments against his preliminary decision.
Angus Taylor has been elected leader of the federal Liberal Party, deposing Sussan Ley just…
Another five-hour battery reaches financial close, this one to piggy back over an existing gas…
Sam Reynolds, the head of Octopus Australia, on why he hopes to build the country's…
Concern about system security has already delayed the closure of Australia's biggest coal generator. But…
Renewable energy accounted for over half of the total energy mix in Spain during 2025,…
Many households only realise after installation they’ve bought a battery system that is locked to…