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Australia
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Why Australia’s deep Aukus submarine division is pushing Albanese’s Labor into hot water

  • Domestic anxiety about the Aukus agreement with the US and UK to help provide Canberra with nuclear-powered submarines has been growing
  • As the ruling Labor party begins a key conference, some members, unionists, anti-war groups keen to rebel, saying ‘so many things are wrong’

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Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in California in March, there to discuss the procurement of nuclear-powered submarines under a pact between the three Aukus nations – Australia, the UK and the US. Photo: dpa
Su-Lin Tanin Singapore
A showdown between the Australian Labor government and its rank and file over the government’s nuclear-powered Aukus submarine deal is set to unfold at a key decision-making conference this week as domestic disapproval of Aukus grows.
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Following the March announcement of an agreement with the United States and Britain for Australia to acquire up to eight submarines, and the necessary military and civilian training, the government’s party members, anti-war groups and many unions have become increasingly agitated.

They say the Aukus deal could cede Australia’s sovereignty to the US, unravel the country’s non-nuclear commitments and hurt the pockets of taxpayers because of the A$368 billion (US$237 billion) cost over the next 30 years.

Similar concerns have also been echoed by neighbouring countries including Malaysia and Indonesia, mainly about how the two-year-old Aukus threesome could unsettle the region’s security or start an arms race, although analysts say the Albanese government’s diplomacy efforts have managed to assuage some of these reservations.

Domestic anxieties about the Aukus military pact and the underlying submarines purchase – particularly from party members – have, however, reached a crescendo ahead of Labor’s key triennial conference starting Thursday, prompting Defence Minister Richard Marles and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy to hold a special video briefing on Monday night to try to placate members and defuse tension.

The conference, which locks down party policies that shape how the government manages Australia, is largely a rubber-stamp of what has already been fought out and agreed upon.

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