Subs and secrets: Will Australia choose AUKUS or sovereignty?
Dec 2, 2024
Australians have become locked in to US military planning, entrenching our status as a US staging post. In this more dangerous world is a country’s sovereignty now a myth?
The real politics was exposed on September 15 2021. Labor leader Anthony Albanese was “wedged” by then Prime Minister Scott Morrison when he, US President Joe Biden and UK PM Boris Johnson announced AUKUS, a $368billion Australian taxpayers’ investment to help build and acquire nuclear powered submarines they all claimed would become a shining symbol of “deterrence” to any Asia-Pacific enemy (China).
Albanese had just 24 hours to dodge the wedge. In the process Australians have become locked in to US military planning, entrenching our status as a US staging post with expanded Pine Gap global communications surveillance, with associated US naval, air force and army Australian bases.
In this webinar we ask three analysts and close observers to unpack AUKUS and what it means for Australia. In this more dangerous world is a country’s sovereignty now a myth? As hard as it is, don’t we have to pick a side? And more distressingly: would you support Australia joining a US war with China over Taiwan?
Watch the full recording of the seminar here:
Quentin Dempster AM is a journalist, broadcaster and author. He is a former ABC presenter, interviewer, producer and investigative reporter. He is a former chairman of the Walkley Foundation and former chair of the Walkley judging panel for the annual awards for excellence in Australian journalism. Quentin is also a regular contributor to Pearls and Irritations and other publications.
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