My question is to the Special Minister of State Mr Jennings.
Yesterday it was revealed that a Chinese based company – China Security and Surveillance Technology (CSST) – will purchase the Melbourne security firm Securecorp – for $157.5 million dollars.
Securecorp has contracts for the MCG, Phillip Island Grand Prix, Spring Racing Carnival, Melbourne Museum, Monash and Victoria Universities, and defence sites. It also has a presence throughout Melbourne CBD, providing patrols as well operating CCTV security for the City of Melbourne.
CSST is owned by Mr Goshen Tu described by the Chinese Press as a “mysterious figure” with links to the government and worth 1 Billion dollars. One of the directors of CSST is a former Commission Head in the Chinese Communist Government Ministry of Public Security.
Given the reasonably small sale price is unlikely to set off an investigation by the Foreign Investment and Review Board, can the Minister explain what steps the Government is taking to ensure the integrity of security operations at major sites across Melbourne given a foreign national will now have full access to them.
Thank you Minister.
I cast no aspersions on the board or management of Securecorp nor CSST, however it is of concern that a foreign organisation with close ties to the Chinese Communist Government has access to important and sensitive sites in Victoria both physically and through a range of technologies such as CCTV.
Can the Minister please inform the house what contracts – at what sites and their contract value – the Victorian Government has with Securecorp and whether it will be conducting a review of these contracts as other organisations have indicated they will do now that Securecorp is to be purchased by China Security and Surveillance Technology.
