AUKUS Was Never About Defending Australia

[00:00:00]Australia's spending $400 on nuclear submarines we probably won't even get.

[00:00:06]But if you think that's bad, well, it gets even worse.

[00:00:10]AUKUS was sold as the biggest defense investment in Australian history. The promise, nuclear-powered submarines from the US in the 2030s followed by a new fleet built together with the UK. But the reality is falling apart and it has been for a long time.

[00:00:27]The United States isn't building enough submarines for its own navy, let alone spare submarines to hand over to Australia.

[00:00:35]And that's billions of taxpayers dollars that we've committed to prop up the US submarine industry. And they're still nowhere near meeting their production targets. So, Australia has signed up to spend around $400 billion of our money on a project that depends on a country who can't deliver what they promised.

[00:00:55]But here's the bigger issue. AUKUS isn't really about defending Australia.

[00:01:01]And I know that's hard to hear, but these submarines are designed to operate thousands of kilometers from our shores alongside the United States Navy in a potential conflict, a potential war with China.

[00:01:13]That's why the Albanese government is expanding military facilities including support for US forces, building accommodation for US and UK personnel, and increasing security around those sites to protect US and UK personnel.

[00:01:28]And at the same time, we're seeing a broader trend. More secrecy, more surveillance, more power handed to foreign military and corporate interests right here in Australia.

[00:01:40]Labor's continued backing of US military bases on Australian soil like Pine Gap.

[00:01:46]Not to mention that Albanese was the first leader in the world to back the US and Israel's illegal war in the Middle East.

[00:01:55]Across issue after issue Labor, the coalition, and One Nation, they are moving in the same dangerous direction.

[00:02:05]That is why the Greens matter. Our role is to expose what these parties want hidden. To use Parliament to force scrutiny. And to work with communities to build the pressure needed to change course.

[00:02:19]Australia does not need to be dragged into someone else's war. You know, the next Donald Trump war.

[00:02:25]We do not need to sacrifice our rights in the name of security.

[00:02:30]And we do not need to hand our future to the military, fossil fuel, or global tech giants. The Greens are offering a really different path. An independent foreign policy. Well, actually that sounds good, doesn't it? And a defense force focused on defending Australia, not preparing for someone else's war thousands of kilometers from our shore.

[00:02:50]Not selling us down the path of always joining the next US forever war.

[00:02:56]A democracy that puts people before military contractors, before fossil fuel companies, and before global tech giants. Because Australia doesn't have to choose endless militarization. We could and should choose independence instead.

[00:03:11]>> Authorized by Jemma Cole, Australian Greens, Canberra.