Australia

Australia: Ex-Minister Launches Public Inquiry Into AUKUS Submarine Deal

Is this a vital shield for Australia's security or a reckless deal that surrenders the nation's independence?

Published JUN 2

Australia: Ex-Minister Launches Public Inquiry Into AUKUS Submarine Deal

Story

Above: Models of Rolls-Royce SSBN Dreadnought PWR 3 reactor pump jet propulsion and SSN-AUKUS PWR 3+ reactor pump jet propulsion submarines at ExCel London on April 14. Image credit: John Keeble/Getty Images

The Facts

Former environment minister Peter Garrett will lead a crowdfunded independent inquiry into the AUKUS submarine deal, organized by the not-for-profit Australian Peace and Security Forum, with a final report due by Oct. 30. Garrett made the announcement Tuesday.
The New Daily
7NEWS
The inquiry's other commissioners include retired Admiral Chris Barrie, former Western Australian Premier Carmen Lawrence, Australia Institute co-chief executive Leanne Minshull and Karina Lester of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Australia.
Herald Sun
PerthNow
News.com.au
Labor backbencher Ed Husic publicly called for the AUKUS deal to be rethought, citing U.S. workforce shortages, supply chain constraints and quality concerns as factors affecting submarine production rates.
PerthNow
The West Australian
Defense Minister Pat Conroy suggested that Labor had a mandate for AUKUS, while Treasurer Jim Chalmers declined to comment on internal caucus discussions, saying only that the government supported "the AUKUS arrangements."
The New Daily
News.com.au
From 2027, the U.S. and U.K. will be permitted to base a small number of nuclear-powered submarines in Perth. The inquiry will examine the deal's implications for Australia's relationship with China, its largest trading partner.
ICRT
BBC News
Australia announced that it will purchase three second-hand Virginia-class submarines from the U.S., replacing an earlier plan to acquire two used vessels and one new sub under the AU$368 billion AUKUS deal.
BBC News
ABC Australia
News.com.au

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

AUKUS is a smart, necessary pivot for Australia — nuclear-powered submarines protect vital sea lanes that carry 99% of the country's trade, and gutting the deal would leave those supply lines dangerously exposed. Bipartisan support has held firm in Canberra, Washington and London, and the political signals from the US remain overwhelmingly positive. A crowdfunded side inquiry with no government authority undermines real defence planning and puts national security at risk.

Lisa Sophia on X

The Conversation

Narrative B

AUKUS was always a rushed, poorly conceived deal scribbled together by politicians more worried about optics than Australia's actual strategic interests. Australians never consented to a financially unsustainable pact that turns the continent into a U.S. military outpost aimed at China. The Pentagon's own review is the wake-up call that Australia needs to forge an independent national security path instead of trailing a fading Atlantic empire.

KellieTranter on X

Paul Keating