Senior federal politicians questions US presence in Australia after Pentagon launches formal review into AUKUS partnership
The Albanese government has been urged to reconsider the joint US secretive military base Pine Gap and the presence of US troops in Australia as the Trump administration questions the AUKUS pact.
Greens senator and defence spokesman David Shoebridge has called on the Albanese government to 'put a stop' to de facto US territories in Australia amid the AUKUS review.
The US announced a formal review of the $300 billion AUKUS arrangement after the Albanese government resisted demands to lift defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP.
Mr Shoebridge told Sky News that Australia should stop 'bankrolling' US defence facilities in Darwin, and the secretive Pine Gap facility.
'Australia has for too long allowed Pine Gap and Defence facilities in Darwin to operate as de facto US territories, it's time we put a stop to that,' he said.
'Labor and the Coalition say having US troops stationed here makes us safer. The Greens say it is a major national security risk.
'Donald Trump is erratic, reckless and careless of America's allies and alliances but he does have one fairly constant trait, he puts US interests first.
'If only Australian decision makers did the same for us.'
Mr Shoebridge said the US decision to review AUKUS should be met with Australia's own review.
'It's time for Parliament to launch a full inquiry into this dud deal, and allow critics of AUKUS a seat at the table, not just a nodding bunch of Labor and Coalition members.'
Several other federal politicians outside of the major parties have also called into question whether the AUKUS deal served the national interest.
Independent Senator David Pocock told Sky News he did not have full confidence in the US administration in relation to the AUKUS agreement.
'I think we should take this as an opportunity to actually do a review ourselves. It's long overdue,' he said on Thursday.
Teal MP Monique Ryan also said it was 'not surprising' the Trump administration was considering an end to AUKUS, and suggested Mr Albanese should 'do the same'.
'Nations act in their own best interests. Spending $400 billion on subs which may never arrive might well not be in our best interest,' she said on X.
Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie recently called into question the Pine Gap facility and said it should be closed in response to Trump's controversial tariffs.
'We don't owe the United States anything. It's time these leaders stood up … It's about time you started hitting them back where it hurts,' Ms Lambie told the ABC.
'I can tell you, if they do not have access to Pine Gap and the communications there, then they are not gathering any intelligence over this side of the world.
'Tell them they've got seven days to remove their US Marines off Australian soil. That will really hurt .'
Ms Lambie said Australia had shown the US 'loyalty and our mateship' in various wars, and it was time to show them 'we mean business'.
'We can no longer trust our US allies … with everything that we've given to them over the years, the loyalty, the mateship, the sacrifice … we don't owe the United States anything,' she said.
Mr Shoebridge echoed Ms Lambie's sentiment, saying that despite 'all the mateship talk', Australia was not an equal partner but a 'useful patsy for US power projection'.
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