The Firb way: finding Australia's sweet spot between blocking China and driving foreign investment

Critics of the Foreign Investment Review Board do not agree on much - except that the system is broken

For the lawyers and investment bankers trying to bring billions of dollars of investment from China into Australia, it has become an immovable roadblock.

For politicians alarmed at Chinese investment in nationally important infrastructure such as power and ports, it is a regulator that has been asleep at the wheel.