Albanese says ‘very confident' AUKUS pact serves all three nations after Pentagon review
Anthony Albanese has thrown his weight behind AUKUS after the Pentagon announced a review, saying he's 'very confident' the pact serves all three nations in a increasingly tense global climate.
It is the first time the Prime Minister has addressed the issue since news broke that the Trump Administration was examining whether the pact aligns with US interests under their 'America First' agenda.
'It will play an important role in peace, security and stability around the world at a time when that is absolutely necessary,' the PM said on Friday after landing in Fiji enroute to the G7 summit in Canada.
He echoed remarks by his Defence Minister Richard Marles on Thursday that the US launching a review was a 'natural' step for an incoming government.
'The United States as an incoming government is having a review just like the Australian government did with our Defence Strategic Review, and just like the government of Keir Starmer in the United Kingdom had as well,' Mr Albanese said.
'We're very confident though that all, because he's in the interests of all three of our nations.'
Mr Albanese declined to say whether he would accelerate Australia's defence spending commitments in response to US calls for allies to lift their budgets.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had conveyed to Mr Marles at a recent Singapore forum that Australia should hike its defence budget to 3.5 per cent of GDP, far beyond the projected 2.3 per cent by 2033.
The review, driven by AUKUS-sceptic Elbridge Colby, has stoked fear America might abandon the 2021-formed tripartite deal with the UK and the US.
Under the deal Australia plans to build five SSN-AUKUS submarines and buy between three and five Virginia Class nuclear-powered subs from the US.
A collapse of the pact could be a major blow for Western Australia, which has been earmarked as the future home of AUKUS nuclear powered submarines in Henderson.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley urged the PM not to be a 'bystander' in the Australia-US relationship and do everything possible to secure a G7-sideline meeting with Donald Trump.
'We support AUKUS, we (the Coalition) put it in place but we are concerned about this review by the Pentagon,' she said on Friday.
'It adds to a growing list of issues within the US-Australia relationship. It's important that Anthony Albanese not be a bystander in this relationship.'
'We do have a good case to make about the mutual benefits.'
Ten crossbenchers —including teal Allegra Spender, Senators Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock— on Friday penned an open letter to Defence Minister Marles calling for a Parliamentary inquiry into AUKUS.
'People across our communities are increasingly concerned about the AUKUS agreement,' they stated.
'Despite these concerns, there has been limited opportunity for parliamentary scrutiny of AUKUS to date. Indeed, both of Australia's AUKUS partners are conducting similar inquiries.
'We therefore think it is important and timely for parliament to conduct a full and formal inquiry.'
WA teal MP Kate Chaney — whose Curtin electorate is north of the Henderson facility — was among a group of 10 crossbenchers.
'Australians want to understand whether this is the best use of our resources and the right path for our security,' Ms Chaney said.
'AUKUS is a monumental strategic commitment with far-reaching implications for our economy, sovereignty, and security posture. Yet, it continues to unfold with minimal public transparency and virtually no parliamentary accountability.'
The MPs and Senators suggested the inquiry could be hosted through a Joint Select Committee and examine the feasibility, timeline, progress, strategic rationale, and opportunity costs among other elements.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA chief executive Peter Cock said the deal was a massive boon for WA industry and expected that the Federal Government would 'engage proactively' to ensure the pact was secure.
'We expect the state and federal governments will continue to engage proactively with the Trump administration throughout the review process to ensure WA and Australia's best interests are represented,' he said.
'CCIWA remains confident that defence industry including the AUKUS elements will deliver significant economic benefits to the Western Australian economy, regardless of the review to be conducted by the Trump administration.'
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Speaking through an interpreter in a recent interview with Automotive News, Toyoda-san said Toyota is as committed to reducing the environmental impact of cars as any other brand, but has adopted a cost- and time-effective way to go about reducing its carbon emissions. "When the term 'carbon neutrality' started to become popular and we started to hear about it, we set our target as a company saying that for us, the enemy is carbon," he said. "The way that we thought about it was that we're not going to contribute to achieving carbon neutrality just by building BEVs, but we have to focus on things that we can do now so that, immediately, we can reduce CO2 from the air. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. "We looked at ourselves [and asked] 'what can we do with the things that we have to contribute to carbon neutrality?' That was the base of how we made our decision in those times, and that has not changed now, and will not change for the future." Toyoda-san is referring to the widespread rollout of hybrid vehicles, which dominate the Japanese brand's current model range. Toyota is credited with creating the first mass-produced hybrid car in the late 1990s, and has continued to develop the technology to the market-leading status it holds today. The company's passenger car lineup is now dominated by hybrids, evidenced by the Japanese brand's Australian axing of all petrol versions of cars that offer hybrid options in 2024. Hybrids continue to play a significant role in Toyota's global efforts too, not least in its home country. Toyoda-san claims that over the past five years, the focus on hybrids played a larger role in reducing Japanese CO2 emissions than EVs. Above: Toyota Hybrid range "If you can check the data for each country about the CO2 emission situation for the past five years, it's going to be very clear," Toyoda-san said. "For Japan, we had this weapon of hybrid vehicles, so with the hybrid vehicles, we were able to reduce 23 per cent of CO2 emissions in the same [time], and it was the only country that was able to achieve that." Toyoda-san added that his company has produced and delivered upwards of 27 million hybrids to date, and claimed that figure was "equivalent to nine million BEVs in terms of the contribution to carbon neutrality". "The hybrids that we made and sold had the same impact as nine million BEVs on the road, but if we were to make nine million BEVs in [Japan] it would have actually increased the CO2 emissions, not reduced, because we are relying on thermal powerplants." Despite that, Toyoda-san reaffirmed that HEVs aren't the only way forward, pointing to Toyota's continued development of internal combustion petrol and diesel engines (ICEs), as well as EVs, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Toyota recently revealed the next-generation RAV4 mid-size SUV (above), which will be the brand's first PHEV in Australia. The Mirai FCEV is currently being used by corporate fleets and government partners locally via very limited leases, too. The Japanese auto giant is also part of an alliance with Subaru and Mazda to develop lower-emission ICEs into the future. "I think we shouldn't just focus on [BEV] … but we should look at all the options that we have and work in all directions," Toyoda-san said. "That will be similar to thinking as a person of the planet, not just from one perspective, but thinking about the whole planet, and then we can think about the various options and take the movements to reduce CO2 as much as possible. "I believe if everyone can support this way of thinking, it will be for the benefit of all the stakeholders too." MORE: Toyota RAV4, Corolla, Camry, Corolla Cross, Kluger go hybrid-only in AustraliaMORE: 2026 Toyota RAV4 gets fresh design, tech plus PHEV power for AustraliaMORE: Toyota, Mazda and Subaru commit to petrol power with new enginesMORE: Everything Toyota Content originally sourced from: Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda has reinforced his company's commitment to prioritising hybrid vehicles (HEVs) over battery-electric vehicles (EVs or BEVs), outlining that hybrids are its ideal way forward in terms of reducing total CO2 emissions. Speaking through an interpreter in a recent interview with Automotive News, Toyoda-san said Toyota is as committed to reducing the environmental impact of cars as any other brand, but has adopted a cost- and time-effective way to go about reducing its carbon emissions. "When the term 'carbon neutrality' started to become popular and we started to hear about it, we set our target as a company saying that for us, the enemy is carbon," he said. "The way that we thought about it was that we're not going to contribute to achieving carbon neutrality just by building BEVs, but we have to focus on things that we can do now so that, immediately, we can reduce CO2 from the air. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. "We looked at ourselves [and asked] 'what can we do with the things that we have to contribute to carbon neutrality?' That was the base of how we made our decision in those times, and that has not changed now, and will not change for the future." Toyoda-san is referring to the widespread rollout of hybrid vehicles, which dominate the Japanese brand's current model range. Toyota is credited with creating the first mass-produced hybrid car in the late 1990s, and has continued to develop the technology to the market-leading status it holds today. The company's passenger car lineup is now dominated by hybrids, evidenced by the Japanese brand's Australian axing of all petrol versions of cars that offer hybrid options in 2024. Hybrids continue to play a significant role in Toyota's global efforts too, not least in its home country. Toyoda-san claims that over the past five years, the focus on hybrids played a larger role in reducing Japanese CO2 emissions than EVs. Above: Toyota Hybrid range "If you can check the data for each country about the CO2 emission situation for the past five years, it's going to be very clear," Toyoda-san said. "For Japan, we had this weapon of hybrid vehicles, so with the hybrid vehicles, we were able to reduce 23 per cent of CO2 emissions in the same [time], and it was the only country that was able to achieve that." Toyoda-san added that his company has produced and delivered upwards of 27 million hybrids to date, and claimed that figure was "equivalent to nine million BEVs in terms of the contribution to carbon neutrality". "The hybrids that we made and sold had the same impact as nine million BEVs on the road, but if we were to make nine million BEVs in [Japan] it would have actually increased the CO2 emissions, not reduced, because we are relying on thermal powerplants." 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"That will be similar to thinking as a person of the planet, not just from one perspective, but thinking about the whole planet, and then we can think about the various options and take the movements to reduce CO2 as much as possible. "I believe if everyone can support this way of thinking, it will be for the benefit of all the stakeholders too." MORE: Toyota RAV4, Corolla, Camry, Corolla Cross, Kluger go hybrid-only in AustraliaMORE: 2026 Toyota RAV4 gets fresh design, tech plus PHEV power for AustraliaMORE: Toyota, Mazda and Subaru commit to petrol power with new enginesMORE: Everything Toyota Content originally sourced from:
