A secret report commissioned by the former New South Wales Liberal government has identified Port Kembla as the preferred east coast location for Australia's proposed nuclear submarine base under the AUKUS deal. The documents, tabled in state parliament on Friday, warn that the base could make the area a target for Australian military adversaries.
The Illawarra port, south of Wollongong, was named in the report as the ideal site for what would become home to an Australian fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. Port Kembla, Newcastle, and Brisbane were shortlisted as possible locations in 2022, but both federal and state Labor governments have since stated that a final decision will be made towards the end of the next decade.
The report includes a cost analysis comparing Port Kembla and Newcastle, considering housing prices, impacts on other industries, and freight capacity expansion. It concluded that Port Kembla would be the most cost-effective location. The documents reference a draft cost analysis report dated September 2023, during the first year of the Minns government.
However, State Planning Minister Paul Scully dismissed suggestions that the Minns government prepared any work referenced in the report, stating that the work was done by the previous Perrottet government. He emphasized that the federal government will not consider likely base locations until well into the next decade.
President of the South Coast Labour Council Arthur Rorris expressed concerns that the report makes it clear residents would not want to live next to a nuclear target. He warned that housing property values, education facilities, health services, and transport would all be negatively impacted. Rorris questioned why the state government does not simply rule out Port Kembla if it is not interested in the location.
The warnings come as Australia last week pledged $400 million towards the AUKUS pact over the next three years in the federal budget, amid delays in US submarine building. Port Kembla residents and organizations have widely opposed having a base in the area, with more than 40 groups, including trade unions and church groups, signing a declaration last year demanding the federal government rule out the location.
