Good afternoon. Earlier today, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced “the biggest single investment in Australia’s defence capability in our history”. Here are the main points of the Aukus submarine deal:
Australia will become only the seventh nation in the world to possess nuclear-powered submarines, with the first Australian-built, British-designed asset to enter service in the 2040s.
The submarines will be built in Osborne, South Australia, potentially adding up to 9,500 jobs at the peak of construction.
As stopgap measures, Australia will buy at least three Virginia class submarines from the US in the 2030s, and the US and UK will establish a rotational presence of their nuclear submarines in Australia as early as 2027.
The entire investment will cost taxpayers up to $368bn over the next four decades or 0.15% of GDP.
China has reiterated its opposition to the deal, saying it “clearly violat[es] the object and purpose of the NPT (non-proliferation treaty).” The White House insists Australia will not enrich uranium or produce its own nuclear fuel for the submarines. But arms control experts have expressed concern about the precedent set of Australia being the first non-nuclear nation to “remove nuclear fuel from safeguards for use in naval reactors”.
Australia has made more than 60 diplomatic calls to regional and world leaders to allay potential concerns.
The Coalition has welcomed the deal, while the Greens have criticised it, saying the $368bn bill will come at the expense of “public education, health, housing and First Nations justice”.
