‘We’re getting trash’: Jacqui Lambie unleashes on AUKUS
Independent senator Jacqui Lambie has unleashed on AUKUS during a heated moment in parliament after it was revealed Australia would only get second-hand nuclear submarines from the US.
Defence Minister Richard Marles announced over the weekend the ADF will now get three used Virginia-class submarines as opposed to the initial two used and one new submarine, triggering concerns from within the Labor caucus and the Coalition over the $368 billion deal.
Senator Jacqui Lambie pushed defence officials on the revised deal. Parliament House
During a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday, Lambie pushed defence officials on the revised deal.
“What we should be getting is three new submarines and now we’re getting trash instead. That is what we are getting,” she said.
“You are allowing the politicians up there to push you around. What do you think is best for the country?”
Defence officials defended the capabilities of the used submarines, which may have already been in service for several years into their 33-year lifespan.
Asked about whether the US has given Australia assurance of the deal through a signed document, they pointed to President Donald Trump’s comments last year that AUKUS was “full steam ahead”.
But Lambie accused them of misleading Australians.
“We’re not getting what we wanted. We’re not getting new ones. We’re getting old ones,” she said as she raised her voice.
“The United States of America and Donald Trump have done us over. Just admit it.”
Defence Minister Richard Marles has insisted the defence deal will benefit Australia. Richard Marles/X
The federal government has been on the defensive about the changed AUKUS deal this week.
Last night, Marles insisted the government had always wanted three second-hand submarines all along due to the simplicity of operating identical vessels.
“Our preference actually from the outset would have been to have ‘in service’ submarines because what it would mean was that we were operating a consistent class of submarines which would provide consistency for our submariners and for those maintaining the submarines,” he said at a defence summit in Canberra.
“It’s not what was then available in terms of the sustainment and production schedule that America had to offer.”
Labor MP Ed Husic questioned whether the party should review its support of the deal at a caucus meeting – a rare dissent that senior Labor MPs and senators have brushed off.
Shadow defence minister James Paterson accused Labor of having “contempt for transparency when it comes to defence”.
“They’ve been saying for the last three years the optimal pathway is to acquire two in-service and one new Virginia-class submarine, and now they’re saying actually all along we preferred three in-service submarines, and that’s the optimal pathway,” he told reporters today.
“You can’t have two optimal pathways. We need to get to the bottom of why this decision was made, when it was made, and who made it.”
A Senate inquiry into the benefit and cost of AUKUS was launched yesterday and will deliver its findings on October 30.
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