By John Coyne Justin Bassi
Now, in a move that鈥檚 both unprecedented and essential, the Commonwealth is suing. Yes, we are dealing with companies but there really is no such thing as the Chinese private sector. As much as the Australian government will rightly make the case for this being about a commercial matter, this is all about the threat from the Chinese government and its objective of controlling critical minerals not just as economic leverage but as a strategic weapon.
It鈥檚 deeply concerning that foreign investors have openly defied a directive from the Australian government. That would never be tolerated by Beijing. In China, foreign companies must abide by a highly restrictive, state-controlled investment environment or risk being expelled immediately. Yet in Australia, even after years of intensifying economic coercion and evidence of strategic interference, certain state-linked actors have come to believe that our foreign investment laws are optional or that the fear of retaliatory action by Beijing would result in Australian inaction.
To the credit of the government, this lawsuit challenges that dangerous assumption head-on. Chalmers鈥 statement was unequivocal: 鈥淔oreign investors in Australia are required to follow Australian law.鈥
What is at stake isn鈥檛 just legal precedent 鈥 it鈥檚 Australia鈥檚 ability to protect the integrity of its critical minerals sector. These minerals 鈥 such as dysprosium, terbium and neodymium 鈥 are the foundational inputs for technologies ranging from F-35 fighter jets and hypersonic missiles to electric vehicles and offshore wind turbines.