Waleed Aly grills finance minister over AUKUS nuclear submarine deal – as Beijing warns Australia

The Project’s Waleed Aly has called out Treasury Secretary Katy Gallagher over the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal following a chilling threat from Beijing in response to the plan.

Australia will spend up to $368 billion on eight US-manufactured, nuclear-powered submarines to modernize its fleet amid concerns about China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the massive spending on Tuesday along with US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in San Diego.

But Aly questioned Ms Gallagher on Tuesday about whether the decision was in the country’s best interests on Ten’s current affairs programme.

“Big decisions have big consequences,” he began.

“We’re already seeing some, shall we say, pro-government Chinese academics probably expressing the view of the Chinese government, saying that this now puts a huge target on Australia’s back and that it brings us to the front line of tensions between America and China instead of somewhere more comfortable.’

The Chancellor of the Exchequer explained that the deal would bolster Australia’s defenses to keep the country safe in response to rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific.

“This decision is about making sure we have the capacity we need for the region we live in,” she said.

“We know there is quite (a) significant increase in equipment and operations in our region and we need to respond in a way that keeps our country safe and I think that’s what the nuclear-powered submarines give us the opportunity to do.”

More to come.