Outgoing US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy has spoken a very uncomfortable truth about Australia’s plans to acquire nuclear submarines under the AUKUS pact, regardless of who wins Tuesday’s (Wednesday AEDT) US election.

While a member of the Democratic Party’s aristocracy, Kennedy, who is nearing the end of her term as envoy, was bound by diplomatic protocol not to bag out Donald Trump when she addressed the Submarine Institute of Australia’s conference on Tuesday.