The Chinese telco was barred from participating in Australia’s National Broadband Network in 2011 on national security grounds. Since then, Huawei has mounted a robust campaign to improve its Australian public image, hiring a number of household names from the political and defense world including an ex-foreign minister, an ex-state premier and a former admiral.

Australia is part of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing group, made up also of the Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US. On the surface, Huawei’s deeper involvement in Australia’s sensitive telecommunications infrastructure could potentially pose a problem, weakening a link in the Five Eyes members.

According to the article, Huawei has been spending particularly on courting the opposition Liberal party in the hope of getting a second chance, if and when, they came back into power in Canberra.