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The Advertiser
3 days ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
Australia to go all in for AUKUS despite US review
Australia could be forced to re-pitch its case for the AUKUS security pact to the US as critics seize on the Trump administration's month-long review to call for the plan to be dumped. The Pentagon will examine whether the pact is in line with US President Donald Trump's "America First" policy amid concerns in Washington the deal could leave the nation short of submarines. Under the agreement, Australia will acquire three nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines from the US in the early 2030s before a new fleet of boats is built for delivery from the 2040s for $368 billion. The three-nation deal was signed between the US, Australia and the UK in 2021 under former prime minister Scott Morrison and the Biden administration. Mr Morrison said the US defence department was "well within its remit" to launch the review and it was not unlike a UK assessment after the election of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "Now is the time for Australia to make the case again," he said. "We have a good case to make in both our own interests and those of our AUKUS partners, especially in the US." Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed the government had known of the review for weeks and he was confident the AUKUS agreement would proceed under the Trump administration. Asked if there was a "plan B" in case the agreement was torn up, he said Australia needed to stick with the existing deal to acquire nuclear submarines. "Chopping and changing guarantees you will never have the capability ... there is a plan here, we are sticking to it and we're going to deliver it," Mr Marles told ABC Radio. Critics of AUKUS point to the lagging production of boats in the US and have warned the deal might jeopardise the US Navy's capabilities. Australia handed over almost $800 million to the US in February - the first of a number of payments - to help boost its submarine production. The 2025 Lowy Institute Poll, to be released in full on Monday, found two-thirds of Australians either somewhat or strongly backed acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. Executive director Michael Fullilove said the government needed to ensure the Trump administration understood the agreement was also in America's national interest. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is yet to confirm a meeting with Mr Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada. Australian National University naval studies expert Jennifer Parker said the nation should be using the opportunity to restate its position. "It would be hard to make an argument that it is in the US interest to fundamentally change or cancel AUKUS," she said. But former Labor prime minister Paul Keating, a strong AUKUS critic, said the review might be the moment "Washington saves Australia from itself". Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who has also criticised the agreement, said Australia should follow in the footsteps of the UK and US and conduct a review. Co-Chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus, US Congressman Joe Courtney, said walking away from Australia and the UK would have "far-reaching ramifications on our trustworthiness on the global stage". Opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor said if AUKUS fell over, all nations would pay a heavy price. "The coalition stands ready to work with Labor to make sure that AUKUS is a success," he said. Greens defence spokesman David Shoebridge said it was time for the government to open an inquiry into the "dud deal". Australia could be forced to re-pitch its case for the AUKUS security pact to the US as critics seize on the Trump administration's month-long review to call for the plan to be dumped. The Pentagon will examine whether the pact is in line with US President Donald Trump's "America First" policy amid concerns in Washington the deal could leave the nation short of submarines. Under the agreement, Australia will acquire three nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines from the US in the early 2030s before a new fleet of boats is built for delivery from the 2040s for $368 billion. The three-nation deal was signed between the US, Australia and the UK in 2021 under former prime minister Scott Morrison and the Biden administration. Mr Morrison said the US defence department was "well within its remit" to launch the review and it was not unlike a UK assessment after the election of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "Now is the time for Australia to make the case again," he said. "We have a good case to make in both our own interests and those of our AUKUS partners, especially in the US." Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed the government had known of the review for weeks and he was confident the AUKUS agreement would proceed under the Trump administration. Asked if there was a "plan B" in case the agreement was torn up, he said Australia needed to stick with the existing deal to acquire nuclear submarines. "Chopping and changing guarantees you will never have the capability ... there is a plan here, we are sticking to it and we're going to deliver it," Mr Marles told ABC Radio. Critics of AUKUS point to the lagging production of boats in the US and have warned the deal might jeopardise the US Navy's capabilities. Australia handed over almost $800 million to the US in February - the first of a number of payments - to help boost its submarine production. The 2025 Lowy Institute Poll, to be released in full on Monday, found two-thirds of Australians either somewhat or strongly backed acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. Executive director Michael Fullilove said the government needed to ensure the Trump administration understood the agreement was also in America's national interest. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is yet to confirm a meeting with Mr Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada. Australian National University naval studies expert Jennifer Parker said the nation should be using the opportunity to restate its position. "It would be hard to make an argument that it is in the US interest to fundamentally change or cancel AUKUS," she said. But former Labor prime minister Paul Keating, a strong AUKUS critic, said the review might be the moment "Washington saves Australia from itself". Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who has also criticised the agreement, said Australia should follow in the footsteps of the UK and US and conduct a review. Co-Chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus, US Congressman Joe Courtney, said walking away from Australia and the UK would have "far-reaching ramifications on our trustworthiness on the global stage". Opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor said if AUKUS fell over, all nations would pay a heavy price. "The coalition stands ready to work with Labor to make sure that AUKUS is a success," he said. Greens defence spokesman David Shoebridge said it was time for the government to open an inquiry into the "dud deal". Australia could be forced to re-pitch its case for the AUKUS security pact to the US as critics seize on the Trump administration's month-long review to call for the plan to be dumped. The Pentagon will examine whether the pact is in line with US President Donald Trump's "America First" policy amid concerns in Washington the deal could leave the nation short of submarines. Under the agreement, Australia will acquire three nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines from the US in the early 2030s before a new fleet of boats is built for delivery from the 2040s for $368 billion. The three-nation deal was signed between the US, Australia and the UK in 2021 under former prime minister Scott Morrison and the Biden administration. Mr Morrison said the US defence department was "well within its remit" to launch the review and it was not unlike a UK assessment after the election of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "Now is the time for Australia to make the case again," he said. "We have a good case to make in both our own interests and those of our AUKUS partners, especially in the US." Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed the government had known of the review for weeks and he was confident the AUKUS agreement would proceed under the Trump administration. Asked if there was a "plan B" in case the agreement was torn up, he said Australia needed to stick with the existing deal to acquire nuclear submarines. "Chopping and changing guarantees you will never have the capability ... there is a plan here, we are sticking to it and we're going to deliver it," Mr Marles told ABC Radio. Critics of AUKUS point to the lagging production of boats in the US and have warned the deal might jeopardise the US Navy's capabilities. Australia handed over almost $800 million to the US in February - the first of a number of payments - to help boost its submarine production. The 2025 Lowy Institute Poll, to be released in full on Monday, found two-thirds of Australians either somewhat or strongly backed acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. Executive director Michael Fullilove said the government needed to ensure the Trump administration understood the agreement was also in America's national interest. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is yet to confirm a meeting with Mr Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada. Australian National University naval studies expert Jennifer Parker said the nation should be using the opportunity to restate its position. "It would be hard to make an argument that it is in the US interest to fundamentally change or cancel AUKUS," she said. But former Labor prime minister Paul Keating, a strong AUKUS critic, said the review might be the moment "Washington saves Australia from itself". Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who has also criticised the agreement, said Australia should follow in the footsteps of the UK and US and conduct a review. Co-Chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus, US Congressman Joe Courtney, said walking away from Australia and the UK would have "far-reaching ramifications on our trustworthiness on the global stage". Opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor said if AUKUS fell over, all nations would pay a heavy price. "The coalition stands ready to work with Labor to make sure that AUKUS is a success," he said. Greens defence spokesman David Shoebridge said it was time for the government to open an inquiry into the "dud deal". Australia could be forced to re-pitch its case for the AUKUS security pact to the US as critics seize on the Trump administration's month-long review to call for the plan to be dumped. The Pentagon will examine whether the pact is in line with US President Donald Trump's "America First" policy amid concerns in Washington the deal could leave the nation short of submarines. Under the agreement, Australia will acquire three nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines from the US in the early 2030s before a new fleet of boats is built for delivery from the 2040s for $368 billion. The three-nation deal was signed between the US, Australia and the UK in 2021 under former prime minister Scott Morrison and the Biden administration. Mr Morrison said the US defence department was "well within its remit" to launch the review and it was not unlike a UK assessment after the election of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "Now is the time for Australia to make the case again," he said. "We have a good case to make in both our own interests and those of our AUKUS partners, especially in the US." Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed the government had known of the review for weeks and he was confident the AUKUS agreement would proceed under the Trump administration. Asked if there was a "plan B" in case the agreement was torn up, he said Australia needed to stick with the existing deal to acquire nuclear submarines. "Chopping and changing guarantees you will never have the capability ... there is a plan here, we are sticking to it and we're going to deliver it," Mr Marles told ABC Radio. Critics of AUKUS point to the lagging production of boats in the US and have warned the deal might jeopardise the US Navy's capabilities. Australia handed over almost $800 million to the US in February - the first of a number of payments - to help boost its submarine production. The 2025 Lowy Institute Poll, to be released in full on Monday, found two-thirds of Australians either somewhat or strongly backed acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. Executive director Michael Fullilove said the government needed to ensure the Trump administration understood the agreement was also in America's national interest. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is yet to confirm a meeting with Mr Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada. Australian National University naval studies expert Jennifer Parker said the nation should be using the opportunity to restate its position. "It would be hard to make an argument that it is in the US interest to fundamentally change or cancel AUKUS," she said. But former Labor prime minister Paul Keating, a strong AUKUS critic, said the review might be the moment "Washington saves Australia from itself". Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who has also criticised the agreement, said Australia should follow in the footsteps of the UK and US and conduct a review. Co-Chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus, US Congressman Joe Courtney, said walking away from Australia and the UK would have "far-reaching ramifications on our trustworthiness on the global stage". Opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor said if AUKUS fell over, all nations would pay a heavy price. "The coalition stands ready to work with Labor to make sure that AUKUS is a success," he said. Greens defence spokesman David Shoebridge said it was time for the government to open an inquiry into the "dud deal".
Asia Times
22-04-2025
- Business
- Asia Times
Australians hate Trump's policies and distrust US: poll
Australians strongly disagree with key policies of US President Donald Trump, and have overwhelmingly lost trust in the United States to act responsibly in the world, according to the Lowy Institute's 2025 poll. Despite this, 80% of people say the alliance is 'very' or 'fairly' important for Australia's security, only fractionally down on last year's 83%. The poll also found people nearly evenly divided on whether Peter Dutton (35%) or Anthony Albanese (34%) would be the better leader to manage Australia's relations with Trump. But Albanese rated much more strongly than Dutton as better able to manage Australia's relationship with China and President Xi Jinping (45% to 25%). 2025 Lowy Institute Poll Albanese was also well ahead (41%-29%) when people were asked who would be more competent at handling Australia's foreign policy over the next three years. The poll comes as the 'Trump effect' has overshadowed the campaign and increasingly worked against Dutton. Labor has cast Dutton as having looked to the US for policies, such as his proposed cuts to the public service. It has labelled him 'DOGEy Dutton', a reference to Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Lowy poll of 2,117 people was taken between March 3 and 16. This was after Trump had announced plans for a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports, and other tariffs, but before his 'Liberation Day' regime, which saw a 10% general tariff hitting all countries. 2025 Lowy Institute Poll Trust in the US has plummeted since the last Lowy poll in 2024, with nearly two-thirds of respondents (64%) having little or no trust in the US to act responsibly in the world, compared with 44% a year before. This is a new low in the poll's two-decade history. Trust fell dramatically among older voters. Trust was already relatively low among younger voters, and fell by a smaller margin. On various Trump stances, the poll found Australians most disapproving (89%) of Trump's pressure on Denmark to sell or hand over its self-governing territory of Greenland to the US. 2025 Lowy Institute Poll More than eight in ten (81%) disapproved of Trump's use of tariffs to pressure other countries to comply with his administration's objectives. Three-quarters disapproved of the US withdrawing from the World Health Organization (76%) and from international climate change agreements (74%). In addition, three-quarters (74%) disapproved of Trump negotiating a deal on the future of Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin that might require Ukraine to accept a loss of territory. The dramatic Oval Office showdown between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance took place just before the survey. Australians also disapproved of the US cutting spending on foreign aid (64%) and undertaking mass deportations of undocumented migrants (56%). On Trump's demand that US allies spend more on defense, people were, however, evenly divided (49% approved/disapproved). Michelle Grattan is professorial fellow, University of Canberra This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
