Australia upholds ban on China's Huawei to bid national high speed Internet programme

Australia on Tuesday maintained a ban issued by the previous Labor government to bar China's telecom company Huawei from bidding for the country's high speed national Internet program, local media reported. According to reports, Australian Attorney-General George Brandis has issued a statement, indicating that the government would uphold the ban due to security concerns. The previous government's decision not to permit Huawei to tender for the National Broadband Network (NBN) was based on advice from the national security agencies, Brandis told media. "Since the election the current government has had further briefings from the national security agencies, and no decision has been made by the new government to change that existing policy." he was quoted as saying. However, Communication Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Trade Minister Andrew Robb recently provided support to review the ban, raising hope the controversial policy would be relaxed. Huawei Australia issued a short statement to media saying "it understands no decisions have been made by the government regarding the NBN." A local analyst told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the current conservative government's decision would give a big blow to the relation with its major trading partner China when the two countries were struggling to reach a free trade agreement (FTA), which Prime Minister Tony Abbott hoped for success in a year. Federal Labor MP Michael Danby stressed it was a "right call" to keep the ban and he doesn't expect there would be an impact on finalizing the FTA with China. Even if it does, the intelligence agencies advice should be accepted, he told media. Huawei Australia was banned by the former Labor government earlier last year from tendering in the NBN project over security reasons. Shortly after that, the United States also issued a congressional report, saying Huawei and ZTE, another Chinese telecom company, pose a security threat to the U.S. and should be barred from U.S. contracts and acquisitions. The U.S. report were dismissed by Huawei Australia Chairman John Lord as "protectionism," not security.