Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, appeared at the Canberra hearing of the AUKUS Public Inquiry.
“The AUKUS Public Inquiry is a valuable exercise and is doing exactly what the Federal Government should have done before it committed to purchasing at least eight nuclear submarines at a cost approaching $400 billion.” Mr Wilkie said
“That the Morrison Government announced a nuclear submarine fleet out of the blue and before it had been discussed publicly, taken to an election and then debated in the Parliament was an appalling abandonment of proper process. And that the Albanese Government is full steam ahead on AUKUS, when it had the opportunity to critically revisit it, just goes to show that they’ve also drunk the Kool-Aid.
“There are so many layers to this that it is hard to know where to start. But what is clear is that the US has become an unreliable ally, going nuclear will skew our military posture and structure, relying on crewed boats for the next 50 years is highly contentious, and the eyewatering cost is entirely at odds with more pressing priorities.”
A livestream of the hearing was made available here: https://www.youtube.com/@PublicInquiryintoAUKUS