2 days ago
Osborne shipyard traders face nervous wait in new AUKUS review
For Port Adelaide bakery owner Philip Donnelly, the AUKUS pact has brought a sense of long-term security.
In the years to come, the local workforce is set to grow by thousands — with nuclear submarine workers to be based at the nearby Osborne Naval Shipyard.
But uncertainty has reverberated across the Pacific following Thursday's announcement that the US government will review the agreement.
Mr Donnelly, who said he has invested in the area as a business owner and resident, found the news concerning.
"There was a lot of confidence around the initial announcement, and a lot of investment in infrastructure and in business," he said.
"I know a lot of people have invested money into manufacturing so I'm sure they'd be waking up feeling pretty nervous about the future events and to see how they unfold."
But the review did not come as a shock for others in the area.
Port Adelaide Traders Association chair Ryan Jones had predicted an evaluation would take place following the US election.
"I was surprised it took them this long," he said.
"We kind of expected it. We saw that happen in the UK, when Keir Starmer got in."
The federal and state governments took a similar view in the wake of the announcement, downplaying concerns about the future of the agreement.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said he remained "very confident" AUKUS would be delivered.
He suggested the 30-day review was no different to one conducted by the Australian government, and said Australia had been briefed in advance about the review.
Hindmarsh MP Mark Butler, whose electorate takes in the shipyard, said the community had dealt with changes to defence policy over a period of several years.
But he acknowledged the review had caused "a lot of nervousness" in the community.
"What the community wants, what the workforce down there want, is certainty," he said.
"Over the last decade it was, 'do we buy them off the shelf from Japan?', 'do we invest in French technology?'
Former US president Joe Biden announced the AUKUS deal in 2021, when Australia terminated an earlier deal to purchase submarines from France.
Since then, AUKUS has enjoyed bipartisan support in all three countries — with senior Trump administration having spoken in support of it.
But late last month, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth requested that Australia significantly boost its defence spending "as soon as possible".
US defence officials have said the AUKUS review will ensure the pact aligns with President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been invested to prepare Australia for AUKUS, and to ensure Osborne has the capability to construct nuclear submarines.
A new $480 million training academy is under construction, and university places have been designated to build the workforce.
Despite the review, Premier Peter Malinauskas said the government remained confident the submarines would be built in South Australia.
"I can understand people's concerns and the reason for the questions, that's natural," he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
Mr Malinauskas also dismissed calls for the federal government to conduct its own review, pointing to the amount of work already underway.
"It's a bit unfortunate from my perspective that the Lefevre Peninsula at Osborne is a bit out of sight out of mind — you've got to get in a car and drive down there to if you want to see what's going on," he said.
"But if you go there … where they're building the skills and training academy, there is lorry after lorry doing earthmoving works to build an over $400 million facility, which is under construction, which is going to hold the principal training facility for people working on SSN-AUKUS.
"So, things are happening."
The state opposition and Greens both called for parliamentary committees to probe the AUKUS deal.
Shadow Treasurer Sam Telfer said Australian governments must be proactive in shoring up the agreement.
"A review in itself doesn't mean a big change but the potential for there to be that change needs to be something which is prominent in the mind of both the premier and the prime minister," he said.
Greens parliamentary leader Robert Simms said the future of South Australia was too reliant on the Trump administration under the AUKUS arrangement.
"We know, and South Australians have seen this over many years now, that promises of submarine jobs often fail to materialise," he said.
"What we should be doing instead is considering alternatives for green manufacturing here in South Australia."
