Labor MP Ed Husic has issued a stark warning that Australia needs a contingency plan for the Aukus submarine agreement, citing sluggish US production and the transactional nature of the Trump administration as key risks to the multibillion-dollar defense deal.
Speaking during a Labor caucus meeting on Tuesday, Husic became the most prominent internal critic of the $368 billion pact since the ALP national conference in 2023. His intervention was described as courageous by former Labor minister Kim Carr.
Husic Questions US Production Rates
Husic argued that US shipyards are producing Virginia-class submarines at a rate of only 1.1 to 1.2 per year, far below the target of 2.33 needed for the deal to proceed as planned. He said Australia cannot realistically expect submarines to be handed over in the early 2030s.
"We need to be open as a nation that we are not going to get the deal that was promised to us," Husic said. He added that the Trump administration's transactional approach raises sovereignty concerns, as the US could impose conditions on submarine transfers.
Defence Minister Marles Agrees to Secondhand Subs
This week, Defence Minister Richard Marles agreed to US requests for Australia to accept three second-hand Virginia-class submarines instead of a mix of new and old vessels. Marles claimed the change would yield significant cost savings and streamline training.
However, Husic suggested Marles was forced by the US to express satisfaction with the new arrangement after talks with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, in Singapore.
Internal Labor Disquiet and Opposition Criticism
Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson described Husic's comments as a "full-on Labor revolt" and demanded Marles reaffirm the government's commitment to Aukus. Paterson questioned why secondhand submarines were not the preferred option from the start.
At Senate estimates, Defence Secretary Meghan Quinn revealed that Australia had always preferred purchasing secondhand vessels, prompting Paterson to question if the original deal was imposed on the Albanese government.
Wider Labor Movement Opposition
Former Labor minister Peter Garrett has been announced as the head of a public inquiry into Aukus, backed by unions and non-profit groups. The inquiry includes former West Australian premier Carmen Lawrence and former defence force chief Chris Barrie.
Opposition to Aukus is hardening within the Labor movement, with a motion calling for a review of the pact winning support in the Victorian branch for the second year. The grassroots group Labor Against War is pushing to remove all references to Aukus from the party's national platform at the upcoming conference in Adelaide.
Arthur Rorris, secretary of the South Coast Labour Council, which opposes a nuclear submarine base at Port Kembla, claimed the base was never intended for Australian submarines but would be ceded to the US Navy as a staging post.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Tuesday that Labor remains committed to delivering Aukus.
