Firms linked to Beijing now control leases on two islands, off the east and west coasts of Australia, reportedly sparking concerns in Canberra about the national security risks. The Western Australia Labor government approved the lease on Cockatoo Island for a Hong Kong firm with ties to Beijing last year. This comes after the Queensland Labor government on the opposite east coast approved a lease to another Hong Kong firm for Keswick Island. Cockatoo Island is 2,000 kilometres from Perth, Western Australia’s capital, and the island includes an airstrip. The facility fell into disuse in 2015, and according to the ABC, Western Australia’s Department of Mines registry approved the new lease by a Hong Kong firm last year. It will expire in 2032. Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells told the ABC, a public broadcaster, that she was alarmed by the lease agreement. “The Cockatoo Island ‘transaction’ is yet another example of why …