‘Full tilt’ on buying overseas-built subs

Kim Beazley and Brendan Nelson have called for the government to focus on securing its next generation of submarines as soon as possible.

Former defence minister Brendan Nelson. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Former defence ministers Kim Beazley and Brendan Nelson have called for the government to focus on securing its next generation of submarines as soon as possible amid ongoing geopolitical turbulence in the region.

Dr Nelson, who held the defence portfolio during the final years of the Howard government, on Wednesday said we were living through “the most consequential geopolitical realignment of our lifetime” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid the expansion of NATO and China’s continued economic and military ascent.

Those factors, along with Australia’s record low levels of unemployment, meant it was “plain common sense” for Australia to prioritise speed of delivery over the involvement of Australian manufacturers and supplies. Defence Minister Richard Marles has in recent days signalled Australia’s strategic needs and capabilities would drive ­decision-making, pointing to an increased likelihood that Australia would buy, at least initially, submarines built overseas.

Dr Nelson, who is also the president of Boeing Australia, said Defence’s Australian Industry Capability program – which aims to create opportunities for Australian companies to secure defence work – would need to take a back seat.

“Whatever submarine we choose to acquire, we should not delay the acquisition with an excessive concentration on AIC,” Dr Nelson told The Australian.

“We already have close to full employment, including in the defence industry space; there will be an immense amount of work required on infrastructure and support of the submarines, and so if the Australian government were to decide to have much more Australian build on the submarines, Australians need to know that that would probably delay the timing of the acquisition of them.”

Mr Beazley, a defence minister during the Hawke government, said while there would be many debates over the nuclear propulsion submarines at the heart of last year’s AUKUS agreement between Australia, the UK and the US, Australia’s priority had to be on getting them as soon as possible.

Speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce event in Perth, Mr Beazley said the government’s recently announced review of Australia’s defence capacity would need to closely examine the nation’s ability to cope with an imminent outbreak of war. “This is going to play on the minds of the people doing this study intensely; to start to be realistic in the way in which we talk about these things because we are far from home,” he said.