Anthony Albanese is prepared to use interventionist powers to bring the Port of Darwin back into Australian hands, as he looks to shore up voter support in the Top End.
The prime minister began his first visit to Darwin of the election campaign by spruiking Labor's health policy, pledging $70 million for health and age care services and $60 million for a residential care home.
But Mr Albanese also faced scrutiny over efforts to return the Port of Darwin to local ownership.
The port was handed to the Chinese-owned Landbridge Group on a 99-year lease by the then Country Liberal Party Northern Territory government in 2015, and almost immediately sparked controversy.
Both major federal parties have pledged to bring the port back into Australian ownership as they campaign for the May 3 vote, with Mr Albanese indicating multiple parties are interested in the site.
"If we can secure an arrangement and a transfer of ownership back to Australian control in an orderly way without Commonwealth intervention and compulsory acquisition, we will do so," he told reporters on Friday.
"But we are prepared also to use compulsory acquisition powers."
The prime minister kept cards close to his chest as to where the talks were up to with potential private buyers.
"If you're in a commercial negotiation and you want to buy a house, and you say, we've got to buy that house…you lose your power in the negotiations," he said.
"What we will do is negotiate in the interests of Australian taxpayers, in the national interest, it will come back under Australian control. We would never have flogged this off."
The arrival of the prime minister in the Darwin comes as Labor is looking to lock down support in the Northern Territory.
While Labor holds a comfortable lead in the Darwin-based seat of Solomon, it has a razor-thin margin of 1.7 per cent in Lingiari, which covers the remainder of the territory.
Mr Albanese used a visit to a Medicare urgent care clinic to stress health funding for the NT, promising $10.1 million for CareFlight to buy a plane for medical evacuations in remote communities.
"Our health and aged care plan for the territory is a comprehensive plan. It's delivering on aged care, but it's doing more as well," he said.
"Patients in remote NT do not have reliable access to timely emergency medical retrieval services, especially during the wet season, and this will provide care for up to 700 patients a year."
