Billions in extra subs funding but lid kept on debate
Day two of Labor’s national conference is focusing on health and aged care but the contentious issue of AUKUS is lurking beneath the surface.
Source: AAP
Health and workplace issues are expected to dominate Labor’s national conference in Adelaide on Friday, as the federal Defence Minister, the Defence Industry Minister, Premier Peter Malinauskas and SA’s Space Industries Minister travelled to the Osborne facility to announce new funding for nuclear submarine construction.
An extra $4.6 billion in taxpayer dollars was revealed at the nuclear submarine construction yard site north of Adelaide where the nuclear-powered vessels are set to be built under a $368 billion AUKUS agreement with the US and the United Kingdom.
It comes as unrest grows at today’s national Labor conference, dozens of anti-AUKUS protesters were out the front of the Adelaide Convention Centre in hazmat suits and blaring sirens on Friday, urging Labor to drop support for the pact.
Some rank and file members of Labor also want AUKUS dropped from its party platform, Marcus Strom from Labor Against War saying the submarine deal needed to be axed to free up funds for reform measures.
“If the Labor Party is serious about defeating the hot-air challenge from One Nation over lack of investment in infrastructure, it should be putting that sort of money into meaningful jobs, not jobs in the war industry,” he told AAP on Friday.
“This is a chimera of opportunity for jobs, the much better jobs, longer-term jobs in renewables, advanced manufacturing, and the health industry.”
Today’s announcement on funding takes the total spend on the Osborne construction yard to $8.5 billion, with the latest dollars funnelled to building and development at the site in a project expected to create 10,000 jobs in South Australia, with 1100 people already working on the project.
You might like
Defence Minister Richard Marles said the funding would allow for construction to ramp up significantly.
“This investment is another important step in building the sovereign capability Australia will need to build, operate, maintain and sustain our future submarine fleet,” he said.
“The work under way right now at Osborne demonstrates that AUKUS is on track and happening now, all while creating opportunities for Australian industry and workers for decades to come.”
Under AUKUS, Australia will buy used nuclear submarines from the US, before locally built vessels are brought online – however the United States has now said all three subs to be sold to Australia would be second hand rather than a mix of new and used US vessels.
Marles has said Australia will save money and avoid complexity by only buying second-hand nuclear-powered submarines, marking a significant shift in the initial stopgap phase of the AUKUS plan.
He said the trilateral agreement was “incredibly complicated” and any move to simplify it would be beneficial.
Under the original AUKUS deal with the US and the UK, Australia was meant to receive a mix of new and used American submarines from the early 2030s.
The nation would eventually build its own vessels locally relying on the use of US nuclear-propulsion technology and the subs based on the UK’s next generation design.
The UK was expected to start construction of its first SSN-AUKUS in Barrow-in-Furness UK, in the late 2020s, intending to deliver its first SSN-AUKUS to the UK Royal Navy in the late 2030s.
While Australia will begin building its first SSN-AUKUS in Adelaide by the end of this decade.
Stay informed, daily
Australia faces a critical window to receive the US submarines before its existing, 1980s-designed Collins-class vessels are retired from service.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had discussed AUKUS with newly-elected British counterpart Andy Burnham during a call on Thursday congratulating him on his appointment and inviting him to visit Australia.
Burnham’s AUKUS pledge
Burnham has promised Albanese counterpart an “unwavering commitment” to the AUKUS submarine program.
Giving a readout of Burnham’s phone call with Albanese, a Downing Street spokesperson said the pact “embodied [Burnham’s] vision for the UK, delivering change in communities, like AUKUS was doing in Barrow, through reindustrialisation and long-term investment”.
The two leaders “also discussed online safety and the importance of social media bans to safeguard children”, the readout said.
Elsewhere in the call, the pair “talked about their shared love of watching rugby league and [Burnham] said he would love to see the return of the Kangaroos to play in the UK”.
“Both leaders also agreed to become supporters of each other’s home-supporting teams, rugby league’s South Sydney Rabbitohs and Everton,” the Downing Street spokesperson said.
Day two of the triennial policy forum will focus on aged care, the NDIS and health care issues.
Policies focusing on women, Indigenous Australians, along with employment and workplace relations will also feature prominently.
But contentious issues are not expected to feature on the floor of the conference, with most of the bargaining happening behind the scenes.
It comes as expected debate on day one about a tax on gas exports, which had been at the centre of a viral campaign, failed to materialise in amendments.
While Labor’s conference determines the direction of the party and its policy stance, it is up to its parliamentary team to determine how, and when, the measures are implemented.
—AAP
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
