Chalmers sues China-linked investor for defying sell order on stock
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is suing an alleged China-linked investor in ASX-listed Northern Minerals, a strategic rare earth miner, for defying a Commonwealth order to sell its stock due to national interest concerns.
Chalmers lobbed the case in the Federal Court on Thursday against Indian Ocean International Shipping and Service Company Ltd and its former associate for not complying with Australia's foreign investment law.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AU Financial Review
4 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
Chalmers sues China-linked investor for defying sell order on stock
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is suing an alleged China-linked investor in ASX-listed Northern Minerals, a strategic rare earth miner, for defying a Commonwealth order to sell its stock due to national interest concerns. Chalmers lobbed the case in the Federal Court on Thursday against Indian Ocean International Shipping and Service Company Ltd and its former associate for not complying with Australia's foreign investment law.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Chalmers hits China-linked companies with landmark lawsuit over crucial military minerals
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has launched an unprecedented lawsuit against China-linked interests to force them to sell their stake in an Australian rare earths miner, whose products are crucial to warplanes, missiles and submarines. The lawsuit, filed in the Federal Court on Thursday against foreign investors in Northern Minerals, is also seeking financial penalties for allegedly refusing to obey Chalmers' direction to sell out of the company last year. The Australian-listed company is developing the Browns Range heavy rare earths project in remote northern Western Australia, which could be one of the first non-Chinese sources of the minerals used in military guidance systems, wind turbines and electric vehicles. Chalmers' court action against an entity called Indian Ocean International Shipping and Service Company Ltd and a former associate follows his order last year for five Chinese-linked groups to sell their shares in Northern Minerals to unconnected buyers by September. 'Foreign investors in Australia are required to follow Australian law,' Chalmers said in a statement. 'We are doing what is necessary to protect the national interest and the integrity of our foreign investment framework.' China's control of rare earths and critical products is an escalating cause of concern to the United States and countries like Australia, after Donald Trump's trade war prompted Beijing to restrict shipments of the materials. It has made similar moves before, including against Japan in 2010 during a territorial dispute. China controls nearly all of the world's heavy rare earth production and Australian Strategic Policy Institute senior fellow Ian Satchwell said the global superpower's interests were seeking to exert influence over Northern Minerals. 'Australia, with like-minded partner nations, is seeking to build alternative supply chains for rare earths and other critical minerals, and the Northern Minerals shenanigans are a very obvious example of China-linked bad faith investing to allegedly seek to disrupt those efforts,' Satchwell said. 'In Australia's case those rare earths are used for things such as F35 fighters, missiles attached to them and in the future, nuclear-powered submarines.'
Sydney Morning Herald
7 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
New Brisbane Olympics funding deal likely within weeks
A new funding deal for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games will likely be announced within weeks, after a radical change in venue delivery forced a renegotiation. The former $7.1 billion federal and state agreement was based around a Gabba rebuild and a Commonwealth-funded arena at Roma Street in the CBD. It had to be renegotiated when the Crisafulli government instead backed a privately built Gabba Arena on the GoPrint site, with the main Olympic stadium confirmed for Victoria Park. 'The discussions … are incredibly positive,' Queensland sports minister Tim Mander said during a visit to the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, which would have been the centrepiece 2032 venue under the former state Labor government's delivery plan. 'I'm very confident that an agreement will be made shortly.' Standing alongside Mander, federal counterpart Anika Wells said: 'I agree with Tim that this is a matter that you will hear from us on soon.' 'We understand that people want to see us get on with this' she said. 'We understand that people want to see work advance as quickly as possible.' Neither clarified a timeline, but sources at both levels of government have told this masthead an announcement is likely, but not guaranteed, within the next month.
