Good afternoon. Earlier today, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, announced “the biggest single investment in Australia’s defence capability in our history”. Here are the main points of the Aukus submarine deal:
Australia will become only the seventh nation in the world to possess nuclear-powered submarines, with the first Australian-built, British-designed asset to enter service in the 2040s.
The submarines will be built in Osborne, South Australia, potentially adding up to 9,500 jobs at the peak of construction.
As stopgap measures, Australia will buy at least three Virginia class submarines from the US in the 2030s, and the US and UK will establish a rotational presence of their nuclear submarines in Australia as early as 2027.
The entire investment will cost taxpayers up to $368bn over the next four decades or 0.15% of GDP.
China has reiterated its opposition to the deal, saying it “clearly violat[es] the object and purpose of the NPT (non-proliferation treaty).” The White House insists Australia will not enrich uranium or produce its own nuclear fuel for the submarines. But arms control experts have expressed concern about the precedent set of Australia being the first non-nuclear nation to “remove nuclear fuel from safeguards for use in naval reactors”.
Australia has made more than 60 diplomatic calls to regional and world leaders to allay potential concerns.
The Coalition has welcomed the deal, while the Greens have criticised it, saying the $368bn bill will come at the expense of “public education, health, housing and First Nations justice”.
Top news
Landmark AFL lawsuit on concussion | More than 60 former AFL players have filed a class action against the AFL in the Victorian supreme court, seeking compensation for what they allege is serious damage caused by concussions suffered while playing. The lead plaintiff is Jarad Maxwell Rooke, better known as Max Rooke, a dual premiership player for Geelong.
Sydney’s ‘outdated’ train system | Sydneysiders have been hit with more train delays, with repeated outages likely to continue, an expert has warned. Prof David Levinson, a transport planning expert at the University of Sydney, said the communications network used by Sydney’s train network “is far from cutting edge”.
Surge of autumn heat | Don’t pack away those shorts and thongs just yet, above-average temperatures are forecast for much of western, southern and south-east Australia starting Thursday.
ASX tumbles after Silicon Valley Bank goes bust | The ripple effect from the bank’s collapse in the US has hit Australia, with the local share market plunging into negative territory for the year. At noon, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had fallen 133.7 points, or 1.88%, to 6,975.1, while the All Ordinaries was down 141 points, or 1.93%, to 7,169.6.
Trump blames Pence for Jan 6 | Donald Trump has again deflected responsibility for the January 6 attack on Congress, saying the deadly attack was his former vice-president Mike Pence’s fault. “Had he sent the votes back to the legislatures, they wouldn’t have had a problem with January 6, so in many ways you can blame him for January 6,” Trump said. Trump was referring to his attempt to have Pence refuse to certify election results in battleground states.
Kiwi Labour coalition support grows | New Zealand’s governing Labour coalition has pulled ahead in a new poll, putting it closer to staying in government after the upcoming election than it has been in a year. It is the second poll this month to show strong results for Labour or the Greens.
Storm Freddy | Mozambique and Malawi have been left counting the cost of Tropical Storm Freddy, which killed more than 100 people, injured scores and left a trail of destruction as it ripped through southern Africa for the second time in a month over the weekend.
North Korea fires missiles | The rogue state fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Tuesday, Seoul said. It was Pyongyang’s second launch in three days and the first since South Korea and the US began their largest joint military drills in five years.
In video …
Corporate profits driving inflation
Major Australian companies are recording massive profits as workers shoulder the burden of inflation. So what can the government do about it? Improve competition for one, as I explain in this six-minute video.
What they said …
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“The government has proven that poverty is a political choice with its latest military spending announcement.” – Antipoverty Centre
The extraordinary cost of the submarines has been noted by anti-poverty campaigners, who have pointed out the Albanese government’s failure to commit to lifting the jobseeker rate.
In numbers
He was the fantastic fox that derailed a multimillion-dollar plan to reintroduce endangered native species into one of Australia’s largest forests. But after a five-year hunt that involved 10,400 traps, 3,500 baits, 73 stakeouts, 55 days of scent-tracking dogs and 97 infrared cameras filming 40 hours a week, the red fox nicknamed Rambo is officially “no longer”.
Before bed read
General convention has the Hass above the Shepard in the pecking order of preferred avocados. It’s time to reassess that, Melbourne writer Anna Spargo-Ryan says.
“Unlike the wicked gristly bits of the Hass, this avo was smooth, rich, and unthreatening. Thick like custard but savoury like mushrooms. Imagine crème caramel but miraculous.”
Do you agree?
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: CUD. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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