The Wire

This week, the Federal government announced is seeking to obtain powers to review agreements between lower local governments and universities and foreign governments. The proposed legislation includes three elements: the Foreign Minister will have the power to cancel foreign agreements, future agreements will need to be reviewed, and there will be a public registry on the agreements.

The move has been considered to target initiatives such as China’s Belt and Road agreement with Victoria, as diplomatic tensions between Australia and Beijing continue to rise.

But questions have been raised whether the move is possible under the constitution.