Antinuclear

Submission to AUKUS Public Inquiry -We need a smart defence strategy, not the AUKUS fantasy – Merrill Stokes

.No. 391 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QYisXMY14P97uKkblGpX3wsDC4pcwPsg/view

When I first heard about AUKUS I did not believe that this was about Australia’s
defence but about US companies who produce weapons. The debt of the
United States has accumulated to 40 trillion dollars. If countries around the
world buy the weapons that American companies produce it helps their debt
problems and it ties those countries to the United States.

The fact that this contract requires Australia to pay a very large sum of money
even if we never take possession of the Virginia class submarines seems like
something out of ‘Alice and Wonderland’ where reality has been turned on its
head. That is not a contract; That is called tribute. We need to remember
Kissinger’s statement that “to be an enemy of the United States is dangerous
but to be a friend is fatal”.

I believe that it is time that Australia arrived in Asia. We do not exist next door
to the United Kingdom or the United States. We are in Asia. I think it is time we
became seriously acquainted with our neighbours, built good respectful
relationships, and developed beneficial trading arrangements. That to me is far
more likely to maintain the peace than large submarines that generate nuclear
waste.

Australia has a population of 27 million. Indonesia has a population of 287
million, China 1.4 billion, Malaysia 34 million. We are a small country that is
dry, and where all our resources need to be used and managed well. It seems
to me that investment in diplomacy would be far more profitable than
preparing for war. To afford AUKUS the tax burden needs to be increased, or we
will incur a huge debt into the foreseeable future.

We need a smart defence strategy. These submarines are already out of date.
The current technology renders these systems very vulnerable to underwater
drones and other systems that are remaking the world of war. They are much
cheaper and with radar would protect Australia much more effectively.

As has been pointed out the opportunity cost of AUKUS is productive
industries, investment in health and education, housing and other enterprises
that produce a return for human beings. Weapons only produce death and
destruction.

Australians overall are a peaceful people. Most of us would go to great lengths
to avoid war. We do not want to follow the US into any more wars of folly. It
seems as if the leaders of today are still happy to send, mostly young people, off to die for no good reason. It is time we pursued peace with as much diligence as we seem to pursue war.

The First Nations people of this country have not been consulted or considered
in this Executive decision. The parliament has not been able to launch an
inquiry into the efficacy of this decision. This offends the idea of representative
democracy. A decision this significant needs open air scrutiny.

The environmental impact of AUKUS will be considerable. Cockburn Sound is
already under stress from industry, and it plays a role in the outdoor activities
of the local community. As someone who lives in the metropolitan area of
Perth I do not want to become a target in the case of war.

3 submarines are not going to make Australia safer. These submarines will be
useful for the US if they want to wage war on China. If that were to happen, we
would be a wide-open target. Australia has been drowned in anti-China
propaganda since 1949. “China has a communist government; therefore, they
are the enemy.” That logic has never made any sense to me. When has China
indicated that invading Australia would be a good idea? It is time we looked at
the evidence instead of invoking dishonest rhetoric that has no basis in fact.

The Us has always needed enemies because since President Eisenhower’s
warning about the Military Industrial Complex the US has been the biggest
producer of weapons in the world. Every state in the Union produces weapons.
Once intrenched it is hard to replace those companies with productive
industries who will in turn produce the same level of taxes. Once the economy
is militarized it is hard to replace the guns with butter.

I fear that Australia is being enticed to go down this road. It shows a total lack
of imagination and understanding of the consequences of militarization.
Militarization requires a war because at some point we need to replace all the
weapons we just exploded. No one seems to notice that the people involved in
war suffer terrible physical, psychological and emotional damage. Ancient
buildings get blown up, animals die, the ecological damage is rarely assessed,
and it is believed that it takes five generations for the psychic damage of war to
settle.

AUKUS is simply another addition to a system that much of the world has
outgrown. The leaders of nations need to catch up and find other ways to solve
problems that must be solved through diplomacy anyway. Our energies need to
focus on Climate Change where cooperation and compromise will be essential.

November 15, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics