Peter Garrett to lead Aukus submarine deal review
Quick Look
- Former environment minister Peter Garrett will lead a crowd-funded review of Australia's A$368bn Aukus submarine deal.
- The inquiry will examine the deal's impact on safety, regional security, sovereignty, and relations with China.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
A crowd-funded review led by former environment minister Peter Garrett will examine Australia's A$368bn Aukus submarine deal. The deal involves Australia buying second-hand US submarines to replace its aging fleet and is seen as a move to counter China's growing presence in the Indo-Pacific.
A former environment minister will head up a crowd-funded review of the multi-billion-dollar Aukus submarine deal, Australia's biggest ever defence project.
Peter Garrett, who served as environment minister between 2007 and 2010, said an independent inquiry into the A$368bn ($239bn; £176bn) deal - where Australia will buy second-hand US submarines to replace its ageing fleet - was "long overdue".
Garrett, the frontman of rock band Midnight Oil, said Aukus was the "most expensive" defence deal ever in Australia but the chance to "question, debate and decide has been taken out of the hands of the parliament and the people".
Garrett will lead the inquiry with four other commissioners including Admiral Chris Barrie, the former chief of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and Carmen Lawrence, a former premier of Western Australia.
Karen Lester, the daughter of an Aboriginal man who went blind due to British nuclear tests in South Australia in the 1950s, will also be one of the inquiry's commissioners.
Independent MPs David Pocock and Andrew Wilkie have thrown their support behind the review, which is being organised by not-for-profit group Australian Peace and Security Forum.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government welcomed "appropriate oversight and transparency" of the submarine deal.
One of the issues the five-month inquiry will look at is whether acquiring the nuclear-powered attack submarines will make Australia safer and what impact it will have on the country's standing in terms of regional peace and security.
Key questions the inquiry wants to answer include whether Australia will receive the submarines it will pay for, where and how the nuclear waste will be stored, and if the deal undermines the country's sovereignty.
The inquiry will also ask how the deal will affect Australia's relationship with China, its largest trading partner.
The Aukus deal was first announced in September 2021 and while it is not explicitly stated, it is believed to be about countering China's growing presence in the Indo-Pacific region, and its role in rising tensions in disputed territories such as the South China Sea.
Earlier this week, the government detailed changes to the deal, with Australia to buy three second-hand submarines from the US, replacing a former agreement that Australia would get at least one new vessel.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The review will provide recommendations on the Aukus deal.
Very likely · Within months
Open Questions
- Will Australia receive the submarines it pays for?
- Where and how will nuclear waste be stored?
- Does the deal undermine Australia's sovereignty?
- What impact will the deal have on Australia's relationship with China?
