A new submarine base will be built on Australia’s east coast to support the future nuclear-powered fleet being acquired under the AUKUS partnership, with Defence identifying Brisbane, Newcastle and Port Kembla as the most suitable locations.
Key points:
The Prime Minister will announce a new "future submarine base" for Australia's east coast to accommodate a nuclear fleet
Defence believes Port Kembla in NSW is the best option, but the Commonwealth will also consider Brisbane and Newcastle
The government is playing down the Defence Minister's suggestion of a submarine design announcement ahead of this year's election
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will unveil the plan in a national security speech today, when he will warn the strategic, political, economic and social implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine will "inevitably stretch to the Indo-Pacific".
Australia's fleet of six Collins-class submarines are currently based at Perth's HMAS Stirling (Fleet Base West), while the ageing boats also regularly operate out of Sydney's Garden Island Naval base (Fleet Base East).
During an address to the Lowy Institute, Mr Morrison will confirm the government has decided to establish "a future submarine base on the east coast of Australia to support basing and disposition of the future nuclear-powered submarines".
"This is about additional national capacity, not relocating any existing or planned future capacity for Fleet Base West," Mr Morrison will say in a virtual address from Kirribilli House, where he remains in isolation with COVID-19.
"Fleet Base West will remain home to our current and future submarines, given its strategic importance on the Indian Ocean."
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The ABC understands Port Kembla in the New South Wales city of Wollongong is the preferred option the Defence Department has presented to cabinet's National Security Committee, ahead of Commonwealth negotiations with state governments.
All three sites are close to sufficient infrastructure and large population centres, and are considered reasonably near Australia's primary maritime training and operational areas, deep water and weapons storage, and loading facilities.
A government source confirmed the Defence Department had recently identified Port Kembla as being the most suitable location, requiring the least amount of additional work.
The new facility would be the first new major defence base built in Australia since the Robertson Barracks in Darwin in the 1990s, with initial works expected to be completed by next year ahead of a final decision on the location.
Early estimates from Defence suggest more than $10 billion will be needed for facilities and infrastructure requirements to transition from Collins submarines to the future nuclear-powered fleet.
With the Coalition continuing to push national security as a major election issue against the backdrop of growing worldwide military tensions, Mr Morrison will declare Australia faces its most difficult and dangerous security environment in 80 years.
In his Monday speech, he will accuse Russia and China of aligning to try and reshape the international order to create a "transactional world, devoid of principle, accountability and transparency".
"A new arc of autocracy is instinctively aligning to challenge and reset the world order in their own image," Mr Morrison will say, invoking President George W Bush's 2002 declaration that Iran, North Korea, and Iraq formed an "axis of evil".
Decision on sub design in 'next couple of months'
On Sunday, Defence Minister Peter Dutton told the ABC's Insiders program the government would decide "within the next couple of months" what submarines it would acquire under the AUKUS partnership
He said the nuclear-powered boats would be in Australia "much sooner" than 2040 and there would be a plan to provide capability in the interim, although the government later played down suggestions a design would be announced before the election.
Mr Dutton's initial suggestion of a pre-election decision on Australia's choice of nuclear-powered submarines caused shock among officials from AUKUS partners the United Kingdom and the United States.
"A lot of effort has gone into taking partisan politics out of the whole process – hopefully, this doesn't derail it," one diplomatic official told the ABC, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
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2022-03-06 13:14:20Z
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