Australia's spy agencies should be forced to disclose any security concerns they would have with a Chinese government-owned firm taking control of electricity assets before NSW voters go to the polls on Saturday, Labor insists.
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In a fiery speech in federal Parliament late on Tuesday, Labor Senator Sam Dastyari called on the Abbott government to make public the view of domestic security experts at ASIO on the proposed "poles and wires" privatisation.
His intervention into the state campaign came amid questions over which foreign investors Premier Mike Baird has met with in relation to the sale.
Fairfax Media can reveal Liu Zhenya, the president of the Communist government-owned State Grid Corp of China, expected to be a frontrunner in the power auction, met Mr Baird at a business roundtable function in Beijing in September.
On Tuesday it was revealed Treasurer Andrew Constance had also met representatives of State Grid.
National security concerns around the $20 billion poles and wires sale have emerged because the winning bidder will be handed a 100 per cent stake in TransGrid, the sole power supplier to Canberra, including the headquarters of ASIO, the nation's international spy agency ASIS, the Australian Federal Police, multiple government departments and Parliament House.
Electricity infrastructure can be used for telecommunications and data technology. Chinese-owned telco Huawei has been locked out of the National Broadband Network by Labor and the Coalition after intelligence briefings over security concerns.
Fairfax Media has learned that ASIO has in the past raised concerns around foreign state-owned investors buying into power assets at state level.
Specifically, it raised issue with the government of Singapore buying electricity assets in South Australia. The deal proceeded with conditions.
National security is the first of six "national interest tests" applied by the Foreign Investment Review Board and informed by agencies like ASIO. Another test, specifically for state-owned investors, is "commercial orientation".
Senator Dastyari told the Senate that the view of security agencies on the sale of TransGrid should be disclosed before Saturday.
"We ask our security agencies to state their concerns," he said.
"And identify what conditions they would place on foreign ownership, whether they have the same concerns they expressed during NBN negotiations, and to put these on the public record, where appropriate, so NSW voters can be fully informed before election day."
In comments protected by parliamentary privilege, Senator Dastyari accused Mr Baird of a direct conflict of interest in holding shares in HSBC bank, his former employer, at the same time as HSBC is advising State Grid on $50 billion worth of potential asset investments in NSW and Queensland.
Mr Baird left HSBC to enter politics in 2007.
"You would think that when the Premier is a direct financial beneficiary of a shareholding interest in the bank that is advising State Grid Corp that he would go out of his way to ensure that any possible conflict of interest was clearly disclosed," he said
"Instead, the state Treasurer's meeting with State Grid was concealed by a misleading diary entry."
"Premier Mr Baird must give a full account of his dealings, if any, with State Grid."
During campaigning on Tuesday, Mr Baird was peppered with questions about any meetings he has held with State Grid.
He insisted his former job of treasurer was to "meet with investors across the world and across Australia" but evaded direct questions about State Grid.
Later his office said that no official meeting with State Grid had taken place but the pair had met at a business roundtable hosted by the Australian ambassador.
A spokesman for Mr Baird said the Premier addressed the roundtable but would not comment further on any discussions between Mr Baird and Liu Zhenya who has run State Grid since 2004.
He said he could not comment on any concerns around bidders because the process had not reached that stage.
"Clearly, if we proceed to a bidding process and there are overseas bidders involved, in order to be successful they would need to be cleared by the Foreign Investment Review Board, as has been the case for many years," he said.
Labor leader Luke Foley denied that Labor was "dog whistling" by appealing to public reservations about public assets being owned by foreign interests.
"The people of NSW don't want their electricity network sold off to a foreign owner, whether it's the Chinese government, the Russian government, the French government or even my friends in the Irish government," Mr Foley said. "The campaign is discussing the future of the state's electricity network".
