Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, Sir Stephen Lovegrove, the UK prime minister's special representative on Aukus, argued that the trilateral security pact is succeeding precisely because it provokes strong opposition from potential adversaries. 'Our adversaries hate Aukus. They really hate it,' he said. 'And in a sense, the way in which you can judge whether or not it is doing the things that you want it to do is how much people who don't necessarily share our value systems and our objectives are objecting to it.'
Lovegrove directly addressed China's stated position that Aukus destabilises the region. 'It believes that — or it's said as much, I'm not sure if it believes it — that it's destabilising the region,' he said, contrasting the Australian submarine program with China's own military buildup. 'I think when you look at the way in which China is putting additional nuclear-powered submarines, additional nuclear armed submarines, it's building its submarine capability and its nuclear missile capability at such a pace, these Australian boats are not destabilising the region. We are seeking to balance in the region and … the growth of PLA nuclear powered submarine capabilities is very profound.'
On the domestic front, Minister Tony Burke defended the government's immigration policy, acknowledging that immigration affects 'every part of the economy' and that the housing supply challenge — while 'not immigration's fault' — requires immigration policy to be 'part of the answer.' He stressed the need for 'the softest landing for the economy.'
The Coalition countered, arguing the numbers remain too high. 'The numbers are too high and what we've seen from the government today is no cut to the numbers,' a Coalition spokesperson said. 'We are a great immigrant nation … but immigration needs to be capped based on the housing supply, the infrastructure, the services we have, and that has not been the case in recent years.'