Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the following matter be referred to the Economics References Committee for inquiry and report by 15 September 2026:

The extent and impact of foreign influence in Australia's critical infrastructure sectors,

with particular reference to:

(a) the nature, scale and sources of foreign ownership, investment and control in critical infrastructure, including energy, water, telecommunications, ports and transport assets;

(b) the adequacy of existing regulatory frameworks, including the role of the Foreign Investment Review Board, in identifying and mitigating risks to Australia's economic sovereignty and national interest, including reviews of the 'National Interest Test' used by the Foreign Investment Review Board to assess and advise on referred matters;

(c) the potential economic impacts of foreign influence, including effects on competition, pricing, supply chain resilience and long-term investment outcomes;

(d) risks to regional communities, strategic industries and essential services arising from foreign control or influence over infrastructure assets;

(e) the effectiveness of transparency, disclosure and compliance mechanisms relating to foreign investment and ownership; and

(f) any other related matters.

As we are getting down to the nitty-gritty, we're seeing the effect of the war in the Middle East on supply chains throughout the world. It's something we saw in COVID. We are at the end of a very long dependency line right throughout the world. This involves our critical infrastructure as well. If we are not the sovereign holders of our own infrastructure—if we are not the person that makes the final decision—we are at risk of losing access to the key things that keep this country strong and that keep this country operating. Whether it be transport, whether it be ports or whether it be electricity—whether it be any service—these are the key things that keep a nation strong. Sovereignty is the definition of not being at the behest of others but being able to make your own decisions without coming under duress.

As the rule of law around the world is diminishing to the rule of power, I have been approached by numerous organisations, some partly owned by foreign companies or foreign countries, that are seeing an increasing reach down from ownership into the management of their businesses to a level that they have never seen before. This is not always welcome. This is the real risk of what can happen if the basis of law throughout the world goes down and we move to a power based world. That is not good enough for Australia. What I am looking at is to move this to the committee where we can look at these things—the transport sector, airports, ports, electricity holders and so many things—and work out if this is in the best interests of our country.

We welcome investment. It builds services and things, it employs people and it gives us what we want. But do we want the influence? In some cases, the answer will be, 'Not a problem. There is no issue in the world,' because it's not targeting any one nation and it's not targeting any group or ownership structures. It's targeting the very influence right throughout it. I can tell you that there are two specific countries that I have been approached about, and they couldn't be further apart on the spectrum in the world order. They are very different in what they do.

It is no longer good enough for us to trust just our security services to look after the protection of our nation. Every board, every management structure and every CEO across this nation is being put under increasing pressure as countries look to protect their own interests. Australia is no different. If we are not out there with a strong country, with strong systems and with strong companies that can stand up to this, we can lose everything we have. We found out that more than half of the CCTV cameras around military bases could be controlled by other people, and they had to be replaced. We're talking about cars being able to be turned off. We're seeing all throughout the world that we're not masters of our own domain.

All I am asking is for a referral to the committee to examine this in depth over time. I'm not being alarmist. I'm not saying we have to change this. I'm not going out there beating the doors. We've seen the commitment by this government. They have gone silent lately about the sale of the Port of Darwin and the concerns around that.

If we are so concerned about an infrastructure piece that the government is moving forward with the compulsory disposal of that—although it has gone quiet; I'm wondering whether that's still on the agenda—why are we not concerned by other things, not necessarily owned by the same country but owned by other organisations? Is it in our interests to have our water, in our productive use, owned by super funds of other nations? Is it good to have our electricity distribution owned by corporations of other nations?

As I said, we welcome the investment, but if the control is being increased and the fingers are reaching down, simply because the world has turned into a different world than it was 10 years ago, then we need to be ready for it. And if we are not examining that, we run the exact risk we're running now on the fuel supply. If we are not prepared for the changes and for things to happen when they happen, we'll be playing catch-up—just as we are on oil, just as we are on power, and just as we were during COVID on our medicine and safety supply chains. We can go one of two ways. We can say, 'She'll be right,' and do nothing, or we can actually start making plans for what we should do and for weaknesses we have.

I like to quote, and I'll quote again from Sun Tzu: 'Prevention of defeat lies in oneself.' We have no-one to blame for being weak except ourselves. And if we say no to this, if we say, 'Nothing to see here; we'll move it aside'—I'm not out there ringing alarm bells; it is a safety check, an audit, a check-up on Australia's sovereignty, on the strength of our country, the strength of our services—and if something happens, that is on us. I am sick of sitting in a parliament, sitting in an organisation where things happen and we blame other people: the price of this is on Ukraine; the price of that is on the Middle East. For any action, we always blame someone else. It is time to take responsibility and own these things ourselves.

If we say no—and I can count, and I think the chances are that we will say no to this referral today—the next thing that happens because of foreign influence is on this parliament. It's not on any country or any organisation that tends to do it. We've already had all sorts of fingers reaching down, for the first time last year, and the government was strong on this—the IRGC involvement in attacks in Australia. We are seeing governments and organisations doing more, being more active, having more influence in Australia. So it will be on the government, it will be on those who vote against this, if we do nothing and things happen to our infrastructure. So I urge the Senate to support it. It is not an alarm bell. I have been approached, as I said before, by people on boards and CEOs of organisations in this country who are concerned and who have reached out to agencies of this government for assistance. That is the level of concern they have. They are reaching out to agencies, between our security organisation and our Home Affairs, to gather assistance, to get the resources for this, because it has never happened before and they aren't comfortable.

I thank the Senate for their time. I urge their support. All I want is an Australian community that can stand on its own when times get tough, because we're increasingly finding that we don't know who we can trust.