The controversial Darwin port lease may also be linked to one of the wide-ranging revamp’s most newsworthy chapters: the establishment of a foreign-influence lobbying register. The public database came to life as a result of the 2018 Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme that compels any lobbyist working either directly for a foreign government or for a foreign company with state participation above 15 percent to sign up. Failure to register carries jail terms ranging between a few months and up to five years.
