Peter Dutton, the Minister for Defence, revealed over the weekend that he had discussed the possibility of leasing some nuclear-powered submarines from the Americans to provide an interim capability prior to the Australian-built boats being launched.

This is very welcome because Australia needs to boost its deterrence and defensive capacity sooner rather than later. This is because our most serious security threat will probably confront us in the coming decade and not in the late 2030s or 2040s. We need to get the new submarines quickly.