Australia mistakenly included on list of countries joining US-UK civil nuclear deal, British government says
Albanese government denies media reports it is signing up to collaboration to share advanced nuclear technology
Guardian Adam Morton in Baku and Sarah Basford Canales, 19 Nov 24
The UK government has conceded that Australia was mistakenly included on a list of countries that were expected to sign up to a US-UK civil nuclear deal.
The Albanese government flatly denied media reports on Tuesday that it would join the UK and the US in a collaboration to share advanced nuclear technology. The UK and the US announcement said they would speed up work on “cutting-edge nuclear technology”, including small modular reactors, after inking a deal at the Cop29 UN climate summit in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku.
The UK government’s original media release noted Australia was one of 10 countries “expected” to sign on to the agreement, but mention of Australia was removed a short while later. The other nine countries were also removed…………………………………………………………………..
………… The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, told question time Australia was not signing up to the deal.
“It is an agreement which goes to civil nuclear energy – that means nuclear reactors which provide energy to cities and to electricity grids, and we do not have that in this country, and so as a result … this agreement is not relevant to Australia,” Marles said.
The Australian climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, and the UK minister for energy security and net zero, Ed Miliband, on Tuesday morning in Baku signed a climate and energy partnership to cooperate on renewable energy technology and investment and help “coordinate global climate action under the Paris agreement”. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/19/australia-mistakenly-included-on-list-of-countries-joining-us-uk-civil-nuclear-deal-british-government-says
AUKUS will ‘cannibalize’ other programs with no budget boost: Former top Aussie general
At the same conference, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell urged the incoming Trump administration to work closely with Australia and New Zealand to counter a “relentless” China and not to turn inward.
BREAKING DEFENSE, By Colin Clark November 20, 2024
SYDNEY — Sounding the alarm that the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal will eat into non-naval priorities, the former head of the Australian Defense Force today called for a significant boost in defense spending, up to 3 percent of GDP.
Sir Angus Houston was Australia’s top military officer from 2005-2011 and was tapped to co-lead the recent Defense Strategic Review, making him a key, respected voice on matters of defense. While the DSR TKTKT, his comments today reflect what he sees as changed situation. The review and its Integrated Investment Plan projected a $55.5 billion AUD budget for 2024-25, rising to $67.9 billion in 2027-28 — roughly 2.2 percent of GDP.
………………………in comments at the US Studies Centre here, Houston made clear he wasn’t just talking about spending more because of the threats. He made an important structural point, that Australia must increase its defense spending so that buying and building nuclear powered attack submarines — the AUKUS program with the US and UK — does not consume too much of the defense budget.
Houston said the AUKUS boats “must be a net addition to Australia’s military capability. The only way they can be a net addition to Australian military capability is to increase our defense spending by 3 percent plus of GDP as we move into and through the 2030s.”
If that does not happen, it will mean the military can only buy the subs “through the cannibalization of other military capability. So that is the challenge for us. And I don’t think either side of the body politic in Australia has really come to terms with that.”
The question of whether AUKUS will eat up other programs for the Australian defense community has been an open one ever since the project, the most expensive endeavor in the country’s history, was launched. Officials have largely towed the line that the Lucky Country can do everything.
………………………………..there may be signs of budget pressure emerging already. Earlier this month, Australia killed a $5.3 billion AUD satellite contract with Lockheed Martin, with one analyst saying more cuts will likely have to happen as the true cost of AUKUS emerges.
The current government in Canberra has pledged to increase defense spending by $50.3 billion over the next decade, with the plan being to hit $100 billion by 2033. That would put the country at 2.4 percent — well below what Houston believes is needed……………………………………………………………………………………………
Unlike some NATO countries, which Trump has criticized for spending too little, Australia has committed more than $6 billion USD to expanding the tripartite sub industrial base and plans to spend a total of $368 billion on Virginia- and SSN AUKUS-class subs. https://breakingdefense.com/2024/11/former-top-aussie-general-warns-aukus-will-cannibalize-other-programs-with-no-defense-boost/
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