The Australian public deserve to understand the implications of the Morrison/Albanese secretive, AUKUS agreement.

With Labor and the Coalition supporting the increased integration of our defence capabilities into the US/UK military industrial/big tech complex and no prospect of any transparent Parliamentary inquiry, a group of concerned Australians have been working to establish an open, public inquiry into the economic, environmental, social and political implications of the AUKUS agreement.

An overarching issue is the implications of AUKUS for peace in our region and in the world.

The individuals and groups supporting a public inquiry include retired politicians and military officers, unions, community, peace and, faith groups, members of Labor against War, academics and business people.

The Public Inquiry will examine fundamental questions that our government has ignored such as, will Australia ever receive the submarines we’re paying for, where and how will the high-level nuclear waste be stored, how many additional Australian jobs will this create and will these jobs crowd out existing jobs and industry, and what are the opportunity costs?

Does AUKUS jeopardise our sovereignty, and most importantly, will AUKUS make us safer, or will it turn us into an even higher priority nuclear target?

This inquiry is being coordinated by the Australian Peace and Security Forum (APSF) – ensuring it is grounded in expertise, independence and credibility,

All participants are committed to serious evidence-based examination of Australia’s defence and national security something that neither the Parliament or the media have undertaken.

Parliament has established an AUKUS committee that will operate in secrecy and the media has abandoned its role of critically analysing Parliamentary decisions and political power. It is therefore incumbent on concerned citizens act to guard the public interest and ensure democracy and transparency.

We have launched a public fundraising appeal so that we have sufficient resources to professionally and forensically examine the implications of AUKUS, something that the bulk of our elected parliamentarians have refused to do.

In addition to the many respected Australian voices opposing AUKUS and the illegal war on Iran international experts such as John Mearsheimer, who is a proponent of containing China, has conceded that AUKUS essentially binds Australia to the United States in a potential high stakes war with China over Taiwan.

The illegal military attacks by Israel and the US on Iran have demonstrated that even the most technically sophisticated and powerful nations cannot attack another nation with impunity and allies of the aggressors’ become targets.

How can this be in the national interest, how does this increase our security and what are the implications of supporting a US attack on our largest and most important trading partner?

There is a need for a strong and effective Australian defence force, however the public deserve much more than secret committees, second hand submarines and unproven, yet-to-be-designed attack class nuclear powered submarines.

The public also deserve to understand the implications for defence and the economy if the US and/or the UK fail to deliver on the hype and smoke and mirrors that is AUKUS.

The only Australians who will benefit are the ex-military, politicians and public servants who have set themselves up as advisers to government and private corporations.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser warned of the dangers of the US alliance in his book _Dangerous Allies_. He predicted that any alliance with the US in a war against China would fail and America would retreat back to their homeland leaving Australia as a defeated ally in the Asia Pacific.

Former Prime Ministers Paul Keating and Malcolm Turnbull and Labor icons such as Bob Carr and Gareth Evans have raised similar critiques.

We have failed to learn the lessons of US militarism and aggression in Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War and Afghanistan.

American allies in the Middle East are paying a significant price for hosting US military bases.

We can expect a similar outcome but would face an immensely more powerful and capable opponent than Iran. We would have to deal with a real superpower – China.

It seems inevitable that the AUKUS agreement will result in permanent US military bases in Australia with nuclear armed and powered attack submarines controlled by the US and partially crewed by Australian submariners. This is a far more likely outcome than the myth of Australian owned and crewed nuclear powered attack class submarines.

We would have sacrificed our sovereignty on the altar of AUKUS.

There is still time to reject AUKUS and focus on peace and diplomacy. This can only happen if the nation is aware of the issues and we stop being led into a war by an ‘ally’ which seems determined to confront China.

The history of America is one of imperialism and hegemony. We need to come to our senses and understand that the Trump regime is incapable of managing its own country and on a daily basis he tramples the democratic values that we espouse as our enduring values.

What would Tom Uren and the many progressive ALP members who have, over decades, pursued peace and diplomacy think of Labor ingratiating itself with and appeasing an unbalanced, autocratic and dangerous US President?

Seeking to appease the Trump regime is a recipe for disaster.

Help fund the AUKUS Public Inquiry by donating here.