Australia to build nuclear-submarine base as PM warns of Ukraine war spillover
- The US$7.4 billion project on the country’s east coast will be the first construction of a major base in Australia since the 1990s
- It comes as PM Scott Morrison warns that Australia faces the ‘most difficult and dangerous security environment in 80 years’ amid the war in Ukraine
In his speech to the Lowy Institute, Morrison warned against rising militarisation and attacks on liberal democracies in the Asia-Pacific region, saying “Australia faces its most difficult and dangerous security environment in 80 years”.
News of the base comes as Morrison seeks to burnish his national security credentials ahead of an election that must be held by the end of May, with the prime minister’s centre-right Liberal National coalition badly trailing the opposition Labor Party in opinion polls.
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Australia already has one submarine base on the country’s west coast, where its ageing fleet of Collins-class submarines are based. Morrison said the west coast base will continue to operate even after the new facility is completed.
The initial work on the new facility is expected to be finished by the end of 2023, according to the government.
“There will also be significant benefits for local and national industry in supporting the new base and the more complex and larger nuclear-powered submarine fleet,” Morrison said.