The National Defence Statement 2023 is nothing if not predictable, going all the way with the USA, quickly rubber stamping the nuclear-powered submarines in particular, and AUKUS in general.
The review’s outcome was set before it started by the politics of Labor signing up in a matter of hours to carry Scott Morrison’s Anglophone burden. Paul Keating’s charge remains unanswered that Labor’s defence policy was set by wanting to provide no target when blindsided by Mr Morrison’s submarine adventure.
