Huawei maintains 5G ambition
Huawei Australia chairman John Lord has declared the Chinese telecommunications giant is “here to stay” and has no intention of dropping its ambition to participate in the national rollout of the 5G network.
Speaking in front of Parliament House, Mr Lord used Huawei’s $2 million sponsorship of the NRL’s Canberra Raiders to restate the company’s aim of being involved in Australia’s 5G network, despite the Coalition banning it last year.
The former senior Royal Australian Navy officer said Huawei would “keep showing” the government the “advantages of including Huawei in the 5G network”.
The sponsorship deal came ahead of the Raiders’ clash with the Cronulla Sharks in Canberra last night, which was attended by Scott Morrison, the Sharks’ No 1 ticketholder.
Malcolm Turnbull barred the telecommunications giant from tendering for work on the 5G network last August, on the advice of security agencies, because of concerns about its links with the Communist Party of China.
Mr Lord, flanked by Raiders players Josh Hodgson, Sam Williams and Jarrod Croker, said the group wanted to be part of Canberra and that its 700 local staff would “bleed green” for the team.
Raiders coach and rugby league legend Ricky Stuart attended the event outside Parliament House, along with Raiders board member and former ASIO chief Dennis Richardson.
“We are here to stay in Australia. We want to be and are part of Canberra. And we want to be part of the Raiders in the future. We’ve joined each other, we have supported each other’s sponsorships and foundations and support for communities,” Mr Lord said.
“I, John Lord, and the board of Huawei hopes that further down the track there may be room in Australia for Huawei to participate in 5G. But that is a decision for national government and it is up to us to keep showing government the advantages of including Huawei in the 5G network. To us, the big advantage is competition.”
Mr Richardson — who attended the event in his capacity as Raiders board director — refused to say whether he believed Huawei had links with the Communist Party of China.
The former Defence chief and Australian ambassador to the US — who this week warned of a “technological Cold War” between China and the West — refused to say whether the government was right to bar Huawei from the 5G network.
“I’m not here to talk about my personal views about matters like this. I’m a director of the Canberra Raiders, I am here to support the Canberra Raiders and I welcome Huawei’s sponsorship,” Mr Richardson said.
Under the deal, Huawei will also sponsor the Raiders’ centre of excellence, to be completed in December, and provide Wi-Fi and IT equipment for the club.
NextDC Canberra Data Centre, which stores sensitive data for the federal government, is a 10-minute walk from the Raiders headquarters in the suburb of Bruce.
The Canberra Raiders were the first sporting club sponsored by Huawei when the partnership started nearly eight years ago. The tech giant also a sponsor of the AFL’s old Coast Suns.
Raiders chief Don Furner said he was not concerned about being associated with Huawei: “We wouldn’t accept them if we had any concerns. Matters of national security are matters for government. We are an NRL team.”
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