Prime Minister visits SA for the first time in eight months, reaffirming commitment to building nuclear subs in SA
The PM says nuclear submarine jobs will stay in SA – citing Adelaide as the major reason the US chose to be part of the multibillion-dollar deal with the UK.
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison has lauded South Australia’s ability in the full-cycle docking program as a major factor in President Joe Biden’s decision to form the AUKUS pact.
“Can I tell you, South Australians, your success in being able to turn around full-cycle docking here in South Australia is the reason we decided to keep (the work) here,” Mr Morrison said in Adelaide on Friday.
“And I can tell you it was a critical issue in gaining the confidence of the United States that not only can we do that, but we can go ahead and do the things we want to do together in the development and making of nuclear-powered submarines.”
Touching down in Adelaide for the first time in eight months, Mr Morrison reassured the community about his dedication to building nuclear-powered subs in SA.
Asked if SA could tust Mr Morrison to ensure submarine jobs attached to the new lucrative deal with the US and UK would be built in Adelaide, he said it was the right location for construction.
“South Australia got full-cycle docking right for the Collins Class, and that’s why we decided to keep it here because they did the work and got it done,” Mr Morrison said.
“(That’s) one of the reasons why the US was keen to go forward with us on the nuclear-powered submarines.”
He played down the threat posed by a Chinese spy vessel that was detected off the coast of Australia in August and September.
“They have every right to be there, it’s under international maritime law, just like we have every right to be in the South China Sea,” Mr Morrison said.
Mr Morrison promised to “stand up” to China, which he said had taken “great issue” with Australia’s presence in the South China Sea and the decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact.
The first of the nuclear-powered submarines won’t be completed until the end of next decade.
When asked if Australia could wait that long, in light of escalating tensions with China, Mr Morrison said: “We’ll build them as quickly as we possibly can.”
AUKUS was a strategic pact announced in September between the three countries to bolster military and defence capabilities in sharing technology and intelligence.
Within the deal will be the sharing of nuclear-powered propulsion technology to reinvent Australia’s submarine fleet.
He said the decision to scrap a $90bn contract with France on an Attack-class fleet was a challenge.
“As I’ve said on numerous occasions, we … alerted the French government that the submarines they were building for us were not going to meet our strategic needs in a changed environment,” Mr Morrison said.
“I understand the French government is upset about it, I understand President Macron is upset about it, but it’s time to move on and we need to go and build the nuclear submarines that are the right decision for South Australia.”
Meanwhile, the PM says a new heavily mutated Covid strain detected in South Africa is not yet of concern to Australia.
The new B. 1.1.529 strain has been described as the most heavily mutated version discovered to date.
“I’m advised that (strain) is under investigation and not as a variant of concern,” Mr Morrison said while visiting the Tonsley Innovation District in Adelaide on Friday..
Mr Morrison said the “best protection” against “any new variant” was vaccination, and urged unvaccinated South Australians to help the state hit the 80 per cent double-dose milestone.
SA’s double vaccination rate is about 79.5 per cent, he said.
Mr Morrison will make multiple appearances across the state today.
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