Malcolm Turnbull joins Paul Keating in crushing AUKUS deal on nuclear submarines amid ‘sick’ UK economy
Malcolm Turnbull has become the second former prime minister in as many days to criticize the government’s historic AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday announced a $368 billion deal with the United States and the United Kingdom, securing eight high-tech submarines for the next 30 years.
Ex-Labour Prime Minister Paul Keating on Wednesday described AUKUS as “the worst deal since the First World War”.
Mr Turnbull apologized on ABC Radio for not being able to ‘express his concerns as colorfully as Paul’s’, before proceeding to quash the deal.
“The reality is this will take a lot more time, cost a lot more money – involve a lot more risk and cost a lot more money than if we had gone ahead with the submarine project we had with France, which Morrison recklessly canceled.” he said.
Mr Turnbull also expressed doubts about the UK’s ability to stick to their end of the deal – which means building a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines should start by the end of this decade.
“The bottom line is that their economy is sick. It has fundamental, sort of existential problems,” he said.
Australia will command a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines within the next three decades as part of an accelerated plan to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific
“You have to wonder if Britain will be able to sustain the investment in its navy and its army for years to come, given the huge demand they have elsewhere.”
The UK economy has been hit repeatedly by Brexit, Covid, the war in Ukraine and the instability resulting from constant leadership changes.
Despite his reservations, Mr Turnbull noted that the AUKUS deal is ‘done and done’.
“I don’t think there’s a way back,” he said
Mr Turnbull, who served as Prime Minister from 2015 to 2018 as leader of the Liberal Party, also questioned whether a thorough risk assessment had been carried out.
This is not a criticism, it is an observation of reality. Each new class of naval ship carries enormous risks,” he said.
But he dismissed Mr Keating’s description of the deal as ‘the worst since WWI’, arguing: ‘I wouldn’t believe that. My concerns are more limited.’
Former Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating lashed out at the Albanian government over the AUKUS defense pact
Malcolm Turnbull has become the second former prime minister in as many days to criticize the government’s historic AUKUS nuclear submarine deal
Mr Turnbull said there had not been enough discussion beforehand about the pros and cons of the deal.
Morrison deceived the French, deceived the Americans, shocking things. He did it all in secret. He brags about it… He had an obsession with secrecy.
“There has not been a fully transparent public debate on these issues. We have been caught up in this hoopla and anyone who voices concerns is implied that they lack patriotism.
“I think there are big problems.”
Yet the criticism pales in comparison to Mr Keating’s remarks on Wednesday.
During an appearance at the National Press Club on Wednesday, the famous sour-tongued ex-premier took lashes at Anthony Albanese, Richard Marles, Penny Wong, US President Joe Biden, intelligence agencies and pretty much any reporter who dared ask him a question.
‘Because I have brains. Mainly,’ he said. ‘And I can think. And I can read. And I read every day.
“I mean, why would China want to threaten… What would be the point? They get the iron ore, the coal, the wheat.
What would be the point if China wanted to occupy Sydney and Melbourne? Military?’
‘And could they ever do it? Could they ever bring the numbers here? It would take an armada of troopships to do it.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday announced a $368 billion deal with the United States and the United Kingdom, securing eight high-tech submarines for the next 30 years
‘So you don’t need a briefing from the bland security services we have in Canberra to tell you that. I mean, I know you’re trying to ask a question, but the question is so stupid it’s hardly worth answering.’
Mr Keating accused the Albanian government of accepting the $360bn deal negotiated by the previous Morrison government in just 24 hours.
“How would you do this in 24 hours?” asked Mr. Keating.
“You can only do it if you don’t have the powers of observation to understand the weight of the decisions you have to make.
“It’s what other people call incompetence. I might call it “trying.”
Mr Keating called it the worst decision by a Labor government since World War I, when Prime Minister Billy Hughes supported conscription, saying the whole deal was based on the false idea that China posed a direct threat to Australia.
“This is a distortion and it’s not true,” Mr. Keating said of this idea. “The Chinese have never suggested that they would threaten us or said so explicitly.”
Mr Keating scoffed at the idea of the submarines protecting Australia from a Chinese invasion.
“The idea that we need U.S. submarines to protect us, if we buy eight, three are at sea,” he said.
“Three are going to protect us from the might of China. Real! I mean, the mess of it. The garbage.’
Mr Keating argued that all the deal did was pull Australia into the strategic orbit of the US to maintain their dominance in the Asia-Pacific region, but leave the national interest in ‘deep doo-doo’.
Mr Keating also took aim at Defense Secretary Richard Marles and Foreign Secretary Penny Wong, saying the AUKUS deal was a failure of strategic thinking.