Latest news with #HMASStirling
West Australian
a day ago
- Business
- West Australian
Premier Roger Cook bound for the UK to push WA's case for AUKUS deal on the rocks
Roger Cook is heading to the UK this week to push WA's case for why the shaky AUKUS deal should proceed, amid fears Donald Trump will torpedo the $368 billion defence agreement. With Mr Trump ordering a review of the deal, the Premier — accompanied by his Defence Industries Minister Paul Papalia — will meet with senior British government and defence personnel to emphasise why AUKUS is important to not just Australia, the US and the UK, but to WA. The 2021 AUKUS security pact between the US, Britain and Australia, is supposed to deliver Australia up to five nuclear-powered submarines from about 2030. WA stands to be a major beneficiary, with Henderson — just south of Perth — scheduled to get a $20b boost to become a major defence hub where the submarines would be serviced and naval ship building further developed. About $8b of upgrades are also scheduled to happen at HMAS Stirling, which will become home to Australia's nuclear-propelled AUKUS submarines — Virginia Class SSNs. 'I'm confident that AUKUS is a great deal for the US and Australia and that the Trump administration's review will confirm that,' Mr Cook said. 'While it's only natural that a new administration does a review, there's no doubt we live in uncertain times, and that's why this UK mission is a priority for my Government.' At the G7 summit, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was unable to get a one-on-one meeting with Mr Trump to discuss AUKUS after the US President left early to due to escalating the Middle East crisis. Mr Cook said the deal was in the interests of all three nations, adding any decision not to proceed with the agreement would be worrying. 'Obviously, it (AUKUS not proceeding) would be a concern not only for Australia but for the UK and a concern in relation to the US security attitude towards the geopolitical situation in this region,' he said. 'But, as has been observed by several people, the UK Government undertook its own review of AUKUS when it was elected. 'So, we are not too concerned.' During the five-day mission Mr Cook will hold a roundtable meeting in London with defence industry heavyweights and meet with UK Government officials, including Maria Eagle, Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry, and Lord Spellar, the UK's trade envoy to Australia. The Premier and Mr Papalia will also visit His Majesty's Naval Base, in Devonport which is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Royal Navy. Regardless of AUKUS, Mr Cook was confident WA would play a significant in Australia's — and the US and UK's — defence industries. Mr Cook said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had, for example, recently announced a plan to build up to 12 additional nuclear-powered submarines over the next decade — and WA businesses could play a pivotal role in speeding up the construction of these military assets. 'There will still be significant opportunities for Western Australia's defence industry,' Mr Cook said. 'The US and UK will still need WA businesses, or WA manufacturers, to be part of the global supply chain for their own construction effort. 'There are three big opportunities for Western Australia. 'One is around maintenance and sustainment, the other is around frigate construction and the third is around being part of the international manufacturing supply chain for the construction of UK and US subs back in their countries.' Mr Cook said the State's move to renewables and clean energy would also be a selling point. 'This mission to the UK is a crucial part of my Government's plan to diversify the economy and ensure it remains the strongest in the nation,' Mr Cook said. 'We are doing everything we can to ensure that local businesses benefit from this once in a generation boom, and that's why strategic talks with decision-makers to sell our State to the world and garner investment is so important.'
Perth Now
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Dutton's defence policy reveal turns into gender battle
Peter Dutton's big reveal on defence policy has been sidetracked by the re-emergence of a missing frontbencher, under fire for old comments on women in combat roles. Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie, a former Special Air Service Regiment captain, said in 2018 his view was that the "fighting DNA of a close combat unit is best preserved when it's exclusively male". Mr Hastie's comments re-emerged after a Liberal Party candidate was disendorsed for saying the Australian Defence Force needed to remove women from combat corps. As the coalition trails Labor in the polls on a two-party preferred basis, Mr Dutton visited a defence manufacturing company in Perth on Wednesday to reveal his policy. The opposition leader toured the facility and was shown satellite antennas used by Australia's military for secure communications. Mr Dutton helped lift the lid on a box with kit inside and posed in front of boxes draped in the Australian and Italian flags, two of the countries the defence company supplies with its technology. But during the press conference, questions quickly turned to Mr Hastie's conspicuous absence from national media during the campaign. Asked whether he thought women should serve in combat roles, Mr Hastie answered it was the coalition's policy they were open to women in frontline defence positions. "It's been a longstanding position," he told reporters. "The one thing that we will insist on is high standards, because in combat there's no points for seconds, so we need to be able to win every fight that we go into." Pressed on his response, Mr Hastie attacked Labor for saying his position was "untenable". "(Defence Minister) Richard Marles talks a big game, talks about the most dangerous strategic circumstances since the end of the Second World War, and he uses women in the ADF as a political prop, and I think it's a shameful scare campaign that he's running on this," he said. Polling has shown a decline in support among women for the coalition. Western Australia is key to Australia's nuclear submarine deal with the US and UK, with a rotation of boats to begin at HMAS Stirling from 2027. The mining state helped deliver Anthony Albanese his 2022 election victory.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Aboard a nuclear-powered submarine, 'everything changes on a dime'
By Kirsty Needham (Reuters) - "The role of the fast attack submarine is so dynamic that everything changes on a dime," U.S. Navy Commander Jeffrey Corneille said off the coast of Western Australia on the nuclear-powered submarine USS Minnesota in March. "As soon as my boss says go, we go," said Corneille, the ship's commander. A 2018 letter from the U.S. secretary of defence hangs on a wall in the Minnesota, expressing gratitude for its anti-submarine warfare and intelligence gathering in Europe. Giving pause for thought to an adversary is "not just important for the United States, it's important for all of our partners to work together to get to that", Corneille said. The submarine recently moved its home port from Hawaii to Guam, the first forward deployment of a Virginia-class submarine. "In time of conflict, that is where we replenish, repair and rearm," said Captain Neil Steinhagen, Commander of Guam's Submarine Squadron 15, which includes four Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack subs alongside the Minnesota. A port call at HMAS Stirling is preparation for hundreds of U.S. Navy personnel arriving in 2027, and Australians joining the crew of U.S.-commanded Virginia submarines. The Virginia's "34-year gas tank" gives it the speed to run down its adversary, said Steinhagen, describing the difference between nuclear propulsion and Australia's ageing diesel-electric submarine fleet, which lurk and listen in Indo Pacific chokepoints.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Aboard a nuclear-powered submarine, 'everything changes on a dime'
By Kirsty Needham (Reuters) - "The role of the fast attack submarine is so dynamic that everything changes on a dime," U.S. Navy Commander Jeffrey Corneille said off the coast of Western Australia on the nuclear-powered submarine USS Minnesota in March. "As soon as my boss says go, we go," said Corneille, the ship's commander. A 2018 letter from the U.S. secretary of defence hangs on a wall in the Minnesota, expressing gratitude for its anti-submarine warfare and intelligence gathering in Europe. Giving pause for thought to an adversary is "not just important for the United States, it's important for all of our partners to work together to get to that", Corneille said. The submarine recently moved its home port from Hawaii to Guam, the first forward deployment of a Virginia-class submarine. "In time of conflict, that is where we replenish, repair and rearm," said Captain Neil Steinhagen, Commander of Guam's Submarine Squadron 15, which includes four Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack subs alongside the Minnesota. A port call at HMAS Stirling is preparation for hundreds of U.S. Navy personnel arriving in 2027, and Australians joining the crew of U.S.-commanded Virginia submarines. The Virginia's "34-year gas tank" gives it the speed to run down its adversary, said Steinhagen, describing the difference between nuclear propulsion and Australia's ageing diesel-electric submarine fleet, which lurk and listen in Indo Pacific chokepoints.
Reuters
10-04-2025
- General
- Reuters
Aboard a nuclear-powered submarine, 'everything changes on a dime'
April 10 (Reuters) - "The role of the fast attack submarine is so dynamic that everything changes on a dime," U.S. Navy Commander Jeffrey Corneille said off the coast of Western Australia on the nuclear-powered submarine USS Minnesota in March. "As soon as my boss says go, we go," said Corneille, the ship's commander. A 2018 letter from the U.S. secretary of defence hangs on a wall in the Minnesota, expressing gratitude for its anti-submarine warfare and intelligence gathering in Europe. Giving pause for thought to an adversary is "not just important for the United States, it's important for all of our partners to work together to get to that", Corneille said. The submarine recently moved its home port from Hawaii to Guam, the first forward deployment of a Virginia-class submarine. "In time of conflict, that is where we replenish, repair and rearm," said Captain Neil Steinhagen, Commander of Guam's Submarine Squadron 15, which includes four Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack subs alongside the Minnesota. A port call at HMAS Stirling is preparation for hundreds of U.S. Navy personnel arriving in 2027, and Australians joining the crew of U.S.-commanded Virginia submarines. The Virginia's "34-year gas tank" gives it the speed to run down its adversary, said Steinhagen, describing the difference between nuclear propulsion and Australia's ageing diesel-electric submarine fleet, which lurk and listen in Indo Pacific chokepoints.
