Garrett ‘wrong’ on subs chiding, says ‘Massive Midnight Oil fan’ Mali

Nuclear-powered submarines are no setback for our country, Premier Peter Malinauskas has declared as he repudiates Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett’s attack on AUKUS.

Self-confessed “massive Midnight Oil fan” Premier Peter Malinauskas has repudiated the band’s frontman and former Labor federal minister Peter Garrett’s savaging of the AUKUS nuclear submarine program.

At a media conference outside London’s Ministry of Defence, the Premier rejected Mr Garrett’s criticism that “AUKUS stinks, and that’s an understatement”.

In a four-page statement released on Friday, the veteran nuclear disarmament campaigner lashed “Scott Morrison’s decision to build nuclear submarines in partnership with northern hemisphere former imperial powers”, branding it “the most costly and risky action ever taken by any Australian government” that ”should not have been allowed to stand”.

“God help future generations, especially if they happen to live in the outback or near an existing – or future – defence facility, or if they consume primary products impacted by radioactive leaks into land or water,” Mr Garrett wrote.

Peter Garrett savaged the AUKUS nuclear submarine program. Picture: James Croucher

Premier Peter Malinauskas outside Ministry of Defence in London. Picture: Paul Starick

Asked to respond, Mr Malinauskas said developing a nuclear submarine program enhanced Australia’s sovereignty and capability, by enabling the nation to “have a positive influence on the Asia Pacific region”.

“I’m happy to own up to the fact that I’m a massive Midnight Oil fan and I have an extraordinary amount of regard for Mr Garrett, but on this I plainly have a very different point of view,” he said.

“Everything about the AUKUS submarine program is about investing in our sovereignty and capability, not ceding it to others.”

Mr Malinauskas said developing a domestic nuclear submarine program, ultimately governed by Australian policy decisions, allowed a positive influence on the Asia-Pacific region that served the nation’s economic future.

In a veiled reference to Chinese trade barriers imposed on Australian industries, he argued people had lost livelihoods because of foreign policy downfalls under the previous Coalition government.

“I think South Australians appreciate more than most just how interconnected their standard of living is with our ability to project influence in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.

“Just ask a cray fisherman on the Limestone Coast, who’s lost their livelihoods because of our inability to assert ourselves confidently with foreign policy in our region.

“Grapegrowers in the Riverland, cray fishermen in the Limestone Coast, barley growers on Yorke Peninsula have experienced the consequences of Australia not necessarily being able to assert its position with confidence in the Asia-Pacific region as much as we would have liked.”

Mr Malinauskas said the nuclear submarine program would ensure defence posture matched the nation’s foreign policy interests, which were directly connected to sovereignty and living standards.

“So this doesn‘t compromise our sovereignty, but rather expands our scope to be able to determine it. We should be proud about that and we should seek to pursue these types of programs in the interests of our people,” he said.