Labor members eager for showdown on AUKUS at the party’s national conference
Labor members are determined to have their motions opposing the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact debated on the floor of the party’s national conference in Brisbane.
Richard Marles will attempt to allay simmering concerns over AUKUS among Labor Party members and trade unions with a special briefing on Monday night, as a showdown over the nuclear defence pact at national conference is certain.
The briefing by the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister is open to all party members and affiliated trade unions to be conducted via Zoom as local Labor branches and federal electorate councils continue to express opposition to the trilateral nuclear submarine pact.
The federal electorate council of Macquarie in NSW, covering the seat held by Susan Templeman, is the latest in a string of party units to call for an inquiry into AUKUS, failing to endorse it, and also urging the Albanese government to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Federal Electorate Councils covering the Labor-held seats of Sydney, Parramatta and Boothby have passed resolutions opposing AUKUS, joining more than 40 local Labor branches who have opposed the defence pact outright or called for a formal review.
The Australian can reveal that several motions opposing AUKUS have been submitted for debate at Labor’s national conference beginning on Thursday. But party activists say they have not yet been informed which motions, and in what form, they will be allowed for debate.
NSW Labor upper house MP Anthony D’Adam told The Australian that he is determined to see his motion, seconded by Shannen Potter, to be debated at the conference.
Mr D’Adam’s motion notes the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines “contributes to a regional arms race” and undermines provisions in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It says AUKUS aligns Australian defence policy with the US and “increases the likelihood of our involvement in a disastrous US-led war in Asia”.
The motion calls for the stated support for AUKUS in the draft National Platform to be deleted given the debate within the party and union movement about the value and purpose of AUKUS.
“It is essential for the integrity of Labor’s policymaking process that an issue as controversial as AUKUS is debated at the conference,” Mr D’Adam said. “Issues of peace, disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation have been articles of faith for the Left of the party for generations. How AUKUS is dealt with at the conference will establish whether there remains a genuine left wing in the Labor Party.”
It is understood the national AMWU and ETU remain opposed to AUKUS, as does the ACTU, which has a long-held commitment to opposing a nuclear defence industry, and are in talks to move motions at the conference.
This is expected to be similar to the motion submitted to the National Policy Forum which stated: “Labor will not allow submarines to be nuclear-powered or nuclear-enabled, nor permit their modification to enable future nuclear weapons to be installed.”
Victorian federal Labor MP Daniel Mulino, who was secretary of the National Policy Forum, has an informal role in liaising with stakeholders on motions to be presented to conference and the nature of debate.
Marcus Strom, national convener of the party network Labor Against War, said the national conference was just the beginning of the fight against AUKUS.
“Rank-and-file members expect a Labor government to enact Labor values, not continue with a Scott Morrison war policy,” he said. “Having AUKUS debated at conference will just be our first victory. Working with the broader trade union and peace movement we will continue to pressure this government to adopt an independent, non-nuclear foreign policy consistent with Labor values.”
Most of Labor’s rank-and-file membership and affiliated union members oppose AUKUS and there is no chance it will win unanimous support at the national conference. Senior Labor ministers and faction leaders have said they are supremely confident the policy will be endorsed while accepting there will be a debate over AUKUS and opposition will be expressed at the conference.
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