Radio Program- AUKUS distorts funding priorities-homes for US military instead of Australian homeless.
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Andrew: Good morning, listeners. My name’s Andrew, and with me is Bevan Ramsden. We’re from IPAN, the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network. In today’s CICD Alternative News, we highlight the Albanese government’s distorted spending priorities caused by its unquestioning commitment to the AUKUS war pact with the U.S and the U.K. Bevan, what are the latest manifestations of this?
Bevan 1: The Albanese government has declined to re-examine the AUKUS security pact and determine whether it really does enhance the security of the Australian people as they have been urged to do by the cross-bench MP’s and numerous petitions. Instead they have signed yet another AUKUS submarine agreement, now with the U.K, lasting for 50 years and involving an estimated payment of 47 billion dollars to U.K shipyards with no guarantee that we’ll ever get the submarines or that our money will be returned in the event that the submarines are not delivered. The Greens, to their credit, are so far the only parliamentary party to have opposed AUKUS. Andrew, what do they say about this latest commitment?
Andrew 2: In a media release dated 28th July this year The Greens said: “With AUKUS under threat from the U.S review, this agreement is a step back into the 20th century and further distances us from our neighbours. It makes clear the need for an inquiry into AUKUS… This deal also makes clear that Australia will be responsible for high, low and intermediate nuclear waste from U.K submarines in Australia, with the limited exception of spent nuclear fuel. The deal will also see Australia “waive all claims for liability” on the transfer of AUKUS nuclear submarines.”
Bevan 2: Greens defence spokesperson Senator David Shoebridge said of this new Agreement, quote: “The Albanese Government has already committed to giving the U.K a 5 billion dollar down payment on AUKUS. Of course, the U.K is committed to AUKUS; they have found a sucker in Australia.”
“With this latest round of AUKUS, the Albanese Government is making it clear they would rather handcuff Australia to an erratic bully in the U.S and a dying empire in the U.K than work with our neighbours to have a peaceful and stable region.” Senator Shoebridge also said that; “Signing Australia up to a 50-year agreement with the U.K like this is an expensive distraction for Australia’s defence and security planners. Think of the message being sent to our region as we invite the U.K back, half a century after our neighbours finally saw them sail away.”
Andrew 3: The price tag of 375 billion dollars for AUKUS submarines will inevitably blow out because it includes a totally new type of nuclear submarine, the SSN, which has yet to be designed, let alone built. This huge public expenditure is inevitably at the expense of urgent social needs, such as housing, health, education and critical infrastructure.
Bevan 3: Quite right Andrew. This decision by the Albanese government shows how their distorted priorities are impacting on the ever-worsening housing crisis.
Our most recent Census, that of 2021, showed that almost 123,000 Australians were estimated to be experiencing homelessness, 6000 more that the 2016 Census. Of these, 24,300 were living in supported accommodation for the homeless while about 7,600 people were sleeping rough, without any form of shelter.
Andrew 4: With that in mind, let’s remember that on August 25th the Labor Party united with the Liberal Coalition to overcome an attempt by the cross-bench senators to block a Bill to fund construction of housing for 1,000 U.S military personnel and contractors working on the AUKUS nuclear submarine project at HMAS Stirling in W.A. Bevan, what does IPAN have to say about this?
Bevan 4: In a recent media release, IPAN spokesperson Dr Vince Scappatura said that, quote; “This is an outrageous distortion of national priorities. It is indefensible that public funds are being used to house foreign military forces while thousands of Australians have no shelter…The government continues to justify AUKUS by invoking an unprecedented and grave regional security environment, but without providing a clear, evidence-based explanation of what these threats actually are”. Dr Scappatura further said that;”In reality, there are few direct dangers in our immediate region. Instead of militarising our foreign policy, we need to invest in diplomacy, regional co-operation and peace building”
Andrew 5: Senator Shoebridge stated that, quote, “This Bill will not just allow for the Albanese Government to build houses for U.S troops but also for foreign arms companies and contractors. That means public housing for contractors from Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Elbit Systems, Rafael and others.”
“It is a sick joke that Labor will be taking money from critical social programs, including funding to build houses for Australians in desperate need, and instead spend it on housing U.S troops in Fremantle.”
Bevan 5: Greens spokesperson for Housing Senator Barbara Pocock said that: “We are in the middle of a national housing crisis, including a severe lack of public housing stock. The Government has deemed US troops and defence contractors more worthy of public housing than people in Australia who desperately need a roof over their heads. Over 170,000 Australian households are on public housing wait lists. Homelessness in this country is the ‘worst in living memory’ according to advocacy groups and homelessness shelters. And what is this Government doing? Rushing through a bill that would allow for hundreds of new homes to be built without delay… but for US troops and defence contractors.”
“Instead of spending money on housing for other country’s militaries, why not invest in housing for our essential workers such as teachers, carers and nurses?”
Andrew 6: Senator Pocock went on to say: “Labor’s message here is clear: if you are an American soldier, the government will build you a home. If you are an Australian worker, fend for yourself. The fact that this is the Government’s priority beggars belief. So much for no one left behind. This contradiction exposes the rot in Labor’s housing priorities.”
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Bevan 6: The way the AUKUS security pact is distorting government spending priorities can be clearly seen. But the opposition to AUKUS expressed by IPAN and an increasing number of community organisations and concerned individuals, is not just to do with this distortion and misdirection of spending but to an even more basic issue, the Australian people’s security.
Andrew 7: While the government claims that AUKUS enhances our security, the facts show otherwise. Firstly, Australia is not threatened with invasion, and the claim that we are threatened by Chinese so-called “assertiveness” is no more than a straw man. Far from threatening us, China is our major trading partner and this trade relationship underpins our economy, generating jobs and livelihoods for many Australians. The United States sees China as a threat to its economic and military domination and, it seems, will do anything to maintain this hegemony. It is clearly not in the interests of the Australian people for Australia to become a battleground in a U.S- China war, yet the government’s slavish adherence to U.S foreign policy is leading us towards just such a disaster.
Bevan 7: Secondly, AUKUS has meant more U.S military facilities on our soil, facilities which will inevitably be subject to retaliatory strikes in the event of a U.S-China war. AUKUS has in fact made us less secure.
Andrew 8: Dr Albert Palazzo, a military historian and adjunct professor at UNSW Canberra, states in his recent book, “The Big Fix” that, quote; “As former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has said, there is an urgent need for Australia to develop a Plan B for the nation’s security. One that does not tie Australia to an irrational foreign overlord. The Australian people need-deserve-a better way.”
Dr Palazzo further says; “Fortunately, such a way already exists. My recent book, The Big Fix: Rebuilding Australia’s National Security, offers up an alternate security policy to AUKUS that provides for the nation’s protection, avoids dependency on the United States and ensures full national sovereignty. The book shows that it is possible for Australia to be safe without selling its soul and moral principles to a foreign protector.”
Bevan 8: Another well-qualified voice has chimed in on this issue, none other than the former head of the Australian Defence Forces, Admiral Chris Barrie. Speaking for the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group, he expressed the view that the climate crisis is the main threat to Australia’s security, saying that Australia needed to reorder its foreign policy priorities, with traditional geopolitical risks set to be displaced by climate change.
Admiral Barrie said; “Australia has put all its eggs in the AUKUS basket, risking entanglement in a war with China, while the far greater threat to Australians’ security is being ignored,”
Andrew 9: IPAN is currently campaigning to have the AUKUS security pact cancelled together with termination of the Force Posture Agreement which also gives the United States military a heavy footprint on Australia. Listeners can join and support this campaign by going to http://www.ipan.org.au, that is, http://www.ipan.org.au.
That’s all we have time for today. As usual we welcome our listeners comments and suggestions, which can be emailed peacecentre@cicd.org.au that is peacecentre@cicd.org.au
Good morning and thanks for listening.
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