Deputy PM Richard Marles, UK Defence Secretary sign AUKUS ‘Geelong Treaty’
How a beer, a gallery, and a well-timed visit put Geelong at the heart of a global defence pact.
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A landmark AUKUS pact with the UK will go down in history as the “Geelong Treaty” – thanks to a deft move by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.
Mr Marles, who is also the Defence Minister and member for Corio, lured his British counterpart, John Healey, to his hometown to ink the 50-year deal at the Geelong Art Gallery on Saturday.
“It’s a real honour that they’ve agreed to sign the treaty – which is a really significant agreement between Australia and the UK,” Mr Marles said.
“To sign it here in Geelong and for it to be forever known as the Geelong treaty (is significant).”
Defence and foreign ministers from the UK and Australia met this week to underpin Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.
The Geelong Treaty – a bilateral agreement – falls under the trilateral AUKUS framework between Australia, the UK and America.
It comes amid the US review of AUKUS.
Asked if the treaty was made necessary by wavering support in the US for AUKUS, Mr Marles said: “It is the three of us working together, but there’ll be moments where we are working closely with the United States, we’ll be working closely with the United Kingdom, and where the United States and United Kingdom are working closely with each other.”
The Geelong Treaty was announced on Friday following the annual AUKMIN talks in Sydney, though on Saturday at the Geelong Art Gallery, the pact was made official.
Following a short tour of the gallery, Mr Marles and the UK Secretary of State for Defence sat down to ratify the “historic” agreement.
Mr Marles said it was designed to “enable comprehensive co-operation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our SSN‑AUKUS submarines”.
“This treaty is as significant as a treaty that has been signed between Australia and the United Kingdom since Federation,” he said.
Mr Marles said the AUKUS program would create 20,000 jobs, making it “the most significant industrial endeavour that our country has ever undertaken”.
“What it will deliver is the biggest leap in Australia’s military capability … since the formation of the navy back in 1913,” he said.
Mr Healey said while signing the treaty that it was an “historic day”.
“This is a treaty that will define the relationship between our two nations and safeguard the securities of our country for our children, and for our children’s children,” he said.
The meeting was held in Geelong after Mr Marles visited Mr Healey’s electorate in Sheffield last year.
Once official proceedings concluded, Mr Marles and Mr Healey toured Little Creatures Brewery before talking over a Laneway Lager, one of the brewery’s speciality beers.
It comes after the pair had a pint of ale at Sheffield Forgemasters last year.
“(Mr Healey) was very keen to return the favour and come visit me here in Geelong,” Mr Marles said.
Little Creatures Brewery’s Miles Barraclough said it was exciting to host the two VIPs.
“It reinforces Little Creatures Brewery as a core part of Geelong … an iconic part of it.”
Originally published as Deputy PM Richard Marles, UK Defence Secretary sign AUKUS ‘Geelong Treaty’
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