Scott Morrison rules out pre-election decision on nuclear submarine design

Scott Morrison has hosed down Peter Dutton’s suggestion Australia’s nuclear submarine design will be decided ‘within the next couple of months’.

Scott Morrison during his address to the Lowy Institute from isolation in Kirribilli House, Sydney. Picture::Lowy Institute

Scott Morrison says a decision on which nuclear submarine Australia will buy will not be made until after the federal election, hosing down Defence Minister Peter Dutton’s suggestion that it would be “within the next couple of months”.

Amid Labor accusations that the government is politicising national security, the Prime Minister said the government’s nuclear task force had made progress but “no one should expect” a decision on the proposed submarine before the May poll.

“It won’t be done in that time frame,” he said, just a day after Mr Dutton raised the prospect of a pre-election decision on the submarines’ design.

“That would involve a whole other process particularly in the caretaker period leading up to the election.”

Peter Dutton raised the prospect of a pre-election decision on the nuclear submarines’ design. Picture: Gary Ramage

Opposition defence spokesman Brendan O’Connor said Mr Morrison and Mr Dutton “aren’t on the same page when it comes to the timeline for the nation’s largest Defence contract”.

“We call on the government to get its facts straight and provide a detailed plan in the national interest, not Scott Morrison’s political interest, as to how it will rectify delayed and over-budget defence contracts,” he said.

The confirmation came as Mr Morrison announced three options for a future east coast submarine base – Brisbane, Port Kembla and Newcastle – with a decision to be made next year.

Port Kembla, in Wollongong, south of Sydney, is believed to be Defence’s preferred option.

If Newcastle, north of Sydney, was chosen, the government would have to contend with the port’s 50 per cent ownership by a Chinese company, which would be unacceptable for such a high-security site.

Mr Morrison, who has sought to frame the election against the backdrop of Chinese and -Russian threats, said the ¬Coalition was “the proven choice … when it comes to protecting Australia’s national security interests”.

He told the Lowy Institute from Kirribilli House, where he is isolating with Covid-19, that national security was about “safeguarding our way of life”.

“My government has maintained steadfast in protecting Australia’s interests,” Mr Morrison said. “We have led, not followed.

Anthony Albanese in Adelaide on Monday. Picture Emma Brasier.

“Australians know the courage we have shown and we will continue to show it.”

In a wide-ranging address, Mr Morrison praised the “courage and moral clarity” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s leadership in the face of Russia’s invasion, and predicted a prolonged Ukrainian resistance which would “only grow over time”,

Mr Morrison said he was “not confident” that Ukraine would overcome Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces.

However, he said, “nor can Mr Putin be confident of the outcome he thought would come so easily”.

Mr Morrison also lashed China’s tacit support for Mr Putin’s invasion, through its “economic lifeline” for Russian wheat, and its reported sanctions-defying support for a domestic payments system.

He said the crisis in Ukraine posed an opportunity for China – which recently declared a “no limits” partnership with Russia – to demonstrate its commitment to global peace and territorial integrity.

But he warned “the early signs are not good”.

The government announced an 18-month inquiry into all aspects of the nuclear submarine program – including the design – in September last year, after it dumped the French Attack-class boats and joined the AUKUS defence partnership with the US and UK.

But Mr Dutton said on Sunday: “We will have an announcement within the next couple of months about which boat we are going with.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Picture: AFP

Defence would prefer to purchase US Virginia-class submarines, which would require less modification than the British Astute-class, but may prove too large for Australia’s requirements.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute defence program director Michael Shoebridge said Brisbane was too shallow to be an ideal location for the proposed east coast submarine base.

Mr Shoebridge said both Port Kembla and Newcastle were attractive options, but the Port of Newcastle’s 50 per cent ownership by the China Merchants Port Holdings Company could not be allowed to stand if it became a base for Australia’s nuclear submarines.

“The insanity of leaving the Darwin Port lease in place would only be further demonstrated by doing it again with Newcastle,” he said, referring to the government’s decision not to overturn Chinese ownership of the strategically located Port of Darwin.

Mr Shoebridge warned the government against getting ahead of its submarine task force, headed by Vice-Admiral Jonathan Mead.

“The nuclear submarine program needs to be implemented really well, not really fast,” Mr Shoebridge said.

He said the grounds for the decision would need to be made known, and be “credible and compelling”.

“To not do that as part of an announcement would unfortunately look like it is politically driven, rather than driven by quality analysis between the three AUKUS partners.”

Mr Shoebridge warned that if Australia went with the British submarine over the US option, “we are heading into a troubled program”.

He said the east coast submarine base, which would complement but not replace the west coast base at HMAS Stirling, should also become “a deep maintenance and sustainment facility” for Australia’s submarines and those of its partners.