How does AUKUS news affect Port Kembla nuclear subs base debate?
The harbour's potential as a nuclear submarine base has again arisen as an urgent talking point
The news that Australia would purchase three second-hand US nuclear submarines a decade earlier than planned has refocused attention over whether Port Kembla would be chosen as an east coast submarine base.
Secret documents tabled in state parliament last month revealed that, under the previous Liberal-National Coalition state government, Port Kembla was the front runner.
Labor Premier Chris Minns said during a recent visit to the region that this wasn't any sort of a priority for his government. He wouldn’t, however, rule out Port Kembla as a potential home for the new nuclear submarine fleet in the future.
Wollongong MP Paul Scully yesterday said those secret documents were the work of the previous Liberal government and that any decisions on where those subs would be parked wouldn’t be required until next decade.
Under the new arrangement, Australia is expected to take delivery of the first of the new subs in 2032, not 2042 (or later) as was proposed under the original AUKUS deal.
That puts much greater pressure on federal and state governments to decide where those subs will call home in just six years' time.
In a statement today, Wollongong MP Paul Scully, the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, said: "Decisions related to defence assets and national security are matters for the Commonwealth Government.
"In relation to the location of a future East Coast Base, the Commonwealth has made it clear, repeatedly, that no decision has been made and that the examination of options will not take place until at least the end of the decade and will involve the examination of all possible locations. I am advised that there is no shortlist of locations."
Speaking to The Illawarra Flame before yesterday’s announcement, South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris said the location of the nuclear submarine base should be one of the big issues canvassed ahead of the 2027 state election, less than 10 months away.
“All politicians and all candidates have a responsibility to address this issue and tell the community where they stand on it,” Arthur said.
Many concerns raised
The release of the previously secret reports, which pinpointed Port Kembla as the most cost-effective and viable location for the nuclear submarine base, laid bare many of the concerns expressed last year when 40 groups combined to launch the Port Kembla Declaration of Peace, calling on the harbour and region to remain nuclear free.
The reports, while outlining the economic benefits of a large base being established here, also warned of the negative impacts on the population, such as people being displaced to create an exclusion zone and a fall in property values for those living close to the base.
The analysis also said the Illawarra region would become a target in any future military conflict and at greater risk should there be a nuclear accident.
Arthur Rorris said that, because of the risks outlined in those once-secret reports, he had hoped the state government would rule out Port Kembla as the future submarine base.
“Instead they’ve gone quiet, and they've gone underground. Like a sub, they’ve disappeared under the horizon,” Arthur said.
A city of peace
He also took aim at Wollongong City Council – which has declared the city to be a nuclear-free city of peace in the past – for not yet making a stand.
“We expect our council to be a voice for our community. They’ve been very quiet on this.”
In a statement to The Illawarra Flame before yesterday's news, Lord Mayor Tania Brown accused the Greens, who tabled those secret documents in parliament, of “fear mongering”, saying the documents were “no longer relevant”.
“Regardless of this speculation, I will continue to advocate for the next cruise terminal for NSW to be located at Port Kembla,” the Lord Mayor said.
Quizzed recently on ABC Illawarra about the content of the documents publicly released last month, Cr Ann Martin, a Ward 3 councillor who represents the people of Port Kembla, said “people should take a Bex and lie down”.
The Illawarra Flame has contacted Cr Martin and the Lord Mayor's office for a reaction to the news that the first nuclear submarines could be based somewhere in Australia – and potentially at Port Kembla – as early as 2032.
