A union and community-backed inquiry led by former Labor minister and Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett has called for the AUKUS submarine pact to be scrapped immediately, arguing it threatens national sovereignty, risks dragging Australia into war with China and may never deliver the promised submarines.
The report, Surrendering Australia: The AUKUS Deception, accuses successive Coalition and Labor governments of concealing the true costs and dangers of the agreement and of refusing to subject it to proper parliamentary scrutiny. It warns that the submarine delivery timetable is likely unachievable and could leave Australia without an effective underwater fighting force.
AUKUS is a submarine pact. Pillar I is the nuclear-powered submarine program; Pillar II covers cyber security and other weapons.
Garrett told the National Press Club: "AUKUS is the worst, riskiest and most costly defence decision ever made by an Australian government."
Among its 16 recommendations, the inquiry calls for the immediate termination of Pillar I, a royal commission into the agreement and an independent audit of its costs by the Australian National Audit Office. It also demands the suspension of plans to host rotating US nuclear-powered submarines near Perth, a halt to AUKUS work at Adelaide's Osborne naval precinct and an end to Australian submariners serving aboard American vessels.
The inquiry urges the Albanese government to develop an alternative submarine acquisition strategy, overhaul Pillar II and recalibrate Australia's strategic relationships with Washington and Beijing. It warns Australia could become a target in any US-China conflict and that taxpayers risk losing billions of dollars to American and British shipbuilding industries without receiving the promised submarines.
The report backs longstanding criticisms from former prime ministers Paul Keating and Malcolm Turnbull. It calls for a comprehensive national security strategy and accuses both major parties of surrendering critical defence decisions to foreign powers.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- If accepted, the recommendations would terminate the nuclear-powered submarine program, upending a central element of Australia's defence relationship with the United States and Britain.
- The inquiry puts pressure on the Albanese government to justify a project it says may never deliver submarines while exposing taxpayers to billions of dollars in costs.
- The report frames the debate around Australia's strategic position between Washington and Beijing, arguing the pact increases rather than reduces the risk of conflict.
Background
AUKUS is the trilateral defence pact under which the United States and Britain agreed to help Australia acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. The agreement has been politically contentious in Australia, with critics questioning its cost, its delivery timetable and the risk of entangling the country in a US-China conflict. This inquiry, backed by unions and community groups, is the latest intervention in that debate.
Key Perspectives
- Peter Garrett-led inquiry: says AUKUS is "the worst, riskiest and most costly defence decision ever made by an Australian government" and should be scrapped immediately, with Pillar I terminated.
- Paul Keating and Malcolm Turnbull: the report says it backs their longstanding criticisms of the AUKUS agreement.
What to Watch
- Whether the Albanese government responds to the inquiry's call to terminate Pillar I and order an independent audit of the pact's costs.
- Whether planned US submarine rotations near Perth and work at Adelaide's Osborne naval precinct proceed, as the inquiry wants them halted.
- Whether the government takes up the recommendation for a royal commission into the agreement.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe inquiry urges AUKUS to be scrapped immediately.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “The AUKUS submarine pact should be scrapped immediately”
- SupportedThe report says the submarine pact threatens national sovereignty.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “because it threatens national sovereignty”
- SupportedThe report says the pact risks dragging Australia into a war with China.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “risks dragging the country into war with China”
- SupportedThe report says the pact may never deliver the promised submarines.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “may never deliver the promised submarines”
- SupportedGarrett called AUKUS “the worst, riskiest and most costly defence decision ever made by an Australian government.”Brisbane Times - Latest News: ““AUKUS is the worst, riskiest and most costly defence decision ever made by an Australian government”, Garrett told the National Press Club.”
- SupportedThe inquiry is union and community-backed and led by former Labor minister and Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “The union and community-backed inquiry led by former Labor minister and Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett”
- SupportedThe report accuses successive Coalition and Labor governments of concealing the agreement’s true costs and dangers and refusing proper parliamentary scrutiny.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “has accused successive Coalition and Labor governments of concealing the true costs and dangers of the agreement while refusing to subject it to proper parliamentary scrutiny.”
- SupportedThe report says the submarine delivery timetable is likely unachievable and could leave Australia without an effective underwater fighting force.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “warns the submarine delivery timetable is likely unachievable and could leave Australia without an effective underwater fighting force.”
- SupportedThe inquiry made 16 recommendations.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Among 16 sweeping recommendations”
- SupportedThe inquiry calls for the immediate termination of Pillar I.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “the inquiry calls for the immediate termination of AUKUS Pillar I – the nuclear-powered submarine program”
- SupportedThe inquiry calls for a royal commission into the agreement.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “as well as a royal commission into the agreement”
- SupportedThe inquiry calls for an independent audit of the agreement’s costs by the Australian National Audit Office.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “an independent audit of its costs by the Australian National Audit Office”