Analysis: Premier knows not to overhype SA’s nuclear options | Paul Starick

Both the prime minister and premier are pitching Adelaide nuclear-powered submarine construction as an economic nirvana, writes Paul Starick.

The stakes could not be higher for our state with the decision within weeks about Adelaide nuclear-powered submarine construction.

We’re all in on the AUKUS submarine project, which both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Peter Malinauskas are pitching as delivering an economic nirvana for South Australia.

Mr Albanese, in particular, substantially heightened expectations about the AUKUS pact delivering much more for SA than the extraordinarily lucrative and complex nuclear-powered submarines.

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Both he and the Premier recognise the immeasurable potential of being intimately entwined in the world’s biggest military/industrial complex – the United States – alongside our other traditional ally, the United Kingdom.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses The Advertiser’s Building a Bigger, Better South Australia forum. Picture: Kelly Barnes

Mr Albanese told The Advertiser’s Building a Bigger, Better South Australia forum that the AUKUS pact was not “just about nuclear submarines” but about capitalising upon the “collective benefits of three nations”.

“Our plans are for much more than subs. It’s a plan for nothing less than an industry policy that sees South Australia front and centre of advanced manufacturing, of hi-tech advancements as well,” he said.

“That’s what makes it all add up. A catalyst for more jobs, high-skilled, high-paying, more desirable jobs, indeed, jobs that create more jobs.

“Jobs worth staying home for. Jobs that will drive the South Australian economy and attract some of the best and brightest to South Australia, as well as providing a spur for your homegrown talent.”

Not to be outdone rhetorically, Mr Malinauskas even evoked former US president John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural address, declaring: “It’s no longer a matter of what the country can do for South Australia, but rather what South Australia can deliver for our nation’s security.”

Wisely, though, Mr Malinauskas sounded a note of caution, politely challenging Mr Albanese about the “urgent question” of “what decisions have been made to ensure that nuclear submarines are built here in Adelaide as quickly as possible”.

Mr Malinauskas is acutely aware of the risks of overhyping the nuclear-powered submarine project, even if he last Friday branded the looming federal selection of a boat type “one of the most instructive decisions that will affect our state in our history”.

Premier Peter Malinauskas addresses The Advertiser’s Building a Bigger, Better South Australia forum. Picture: Kelly Barnes

There is a litany of abandoned or overhyped SA megaprojects: Monarto; the multifunctionpolis and Olympic Dam expansion to name a few.

“So I think South Australians could be forgiven for being somewhat anxious, if not even cynical, about next month’s decision,” Mr Malinauskas said.

But he seeks to change public perception, arguing SA approaches the looming decision from a position of strength, with historically low unemployment.

Perhaps most importantly, Mr Malinauskas is seeking to smash any perception of SA as a rust-bucket state seeking handouts – bluntly rejecting any proposition that the state is a rent-seeker wanting submarines as a make-work program.

“South Australia now has the opportunity for a big step-up in the economy and in the standard of living for a new, even more affluent, middle class. The submarine program isn’t about creating demand for labour. It’s about a profound step-up in the type of labour that is in demand,” Mr Malinauskas said.

“So for industry and government alike, now is not the time for a sense of entitlement. It is the time for a sense of ambition.”

So much, therefore, hinges on the March decision of what type of submarines will be built where and when. This will determine whether reality at the Adelaide shipyard matches up to the lofty rhetoric of the Prime Minister and Premier.