This piece is part of a series. Find the full series here.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison has denied knowing of links between conservative lobbyists the Crosby Textor group (C|T Group) and the giant US company General Dynamics, which builds nuclear-powered submarines.
He has also denied knowing that General Dynamics was the lead constructor for the US Navy’s fleet of nuclear-powered submarines as he pondered cancelling Australia’s contract for conventional submarines in favour of nuclear-powered submarines. And he denied speaking about the nuclear-powered submarine option with his principal private secretary Yaron Finkelstein, who left C|T’s Australian operations to join Morrison’s staff in 2018.
Crikey supplied questions to Morrison as part of our investigative series Crosby Textor: the ultimate insiders. The series examines C|T Group’s evolution from early masters of smart polling and cut-through political messaging for conservative politics to the unique global business model it has become today.
The making of the AUKUS deal, projected to cost $368 billion over 30 years, has been shrouded in secrecy, with Morrison reportedly taking it upon himself to question Australia’s contract with the French Naval Group in late 2019. Over the ensuing months, Morrison included a small circle of Australian defence and security officials who in turn reportedly held secret discussions with UK and US officials before Morrison announced the “forever” AUKUS agreement in 2021.
General Dynamics, through its subsidiary Electric Boat, is one of only two US contractors which builds nuclear-powered submarines for the US Navy. The US company is set to play a key role in building Australia’s nuclear capability and may use Australian labour to overcome chronic manpower shortages at its shipyards. As Crikey has reported, General Dynamics became a client of a new C|T lobbying outfit in Washington in 2018.
Crikey yesterday put a series of questions to Morrison in relation to the origins of the nuclear-powered submarine agreement:
- When you explored the idea of nuclear-powered submarines over 2019 and 2020, were you at any stage aware that the US defence company General Dynamics was the lead constructor for the US Navy’s fleet of nuclear-powered submarines?
- Did you at that time have any conversations with Sir Lynton Crosby or any serving or former C|T executive about the nuclear-powered submarine option? Did you speak with your principal private secretary, Yaron Finkelstein, about moving to the nuclear submarine option?
- Were you aware that the C|T group’s US office was a registered lobbyist for General Dynamics when you were exploring the option of switching Australia’s submarine from conventional to nuclear powered?
In an emailed response, a spokesman for Morrison said the answer to all Crikey‘s questions was: “No.”
His blanket denial suggests that he pushed the historic AUKUS agreement forward without an awareness of who Australia’s US partners were in the highly specialised, high-priced and high-risk world of nuclear submarine building — despite the well-publicised problems with the French Naval Group.
Morrison’s denial also means that for a significant period he kept his most trusted political adviser, Finkelstein, out of the loop when it came to exploring the nuclear option — even though the issue would be one of the defining steps of Morrison’s prime ministership.
C|T Group’s response
The C|T Group responded to Crikey‘s questions with this on-the-record comment:
At no time did C|T Group have any discussion with any government about AUKUS before it was announced. C|T Group complies fully with all its legal and regulatory obligations at all times.
Crikey does not suggest otherwise in relation to either C|T or any past or present C|T Group personnel.
Crikey‘s questions to it were:
- Did C|T representatives raise the nuclear submarine-building capability of US defence company General Dynamics and/or its subsidiary Electric Boat in discussions with then-prime minister Morrison prior to Morrison’s decision to explore nuclear submarines for Australia?
- Did C|T representatives raise the nuclear submarine-building capability of General Dynamics and/or its subsidiary Electric Boat in discussions with then-UK prime minister Boris Johnson while Morrison was re-examining Australia’s contract with the French Naval Group?
- In relation to former C|T executives employed as advisers on the prime ministerial staff of Morrison and Johnson, did C|T use its relationships with those staffers to influence government decision-making on behalf of its clients?
- What is C|T’s comment on the fact it had close links with the Australian and UK prime ministers from 2019 to 2022 while at the same time it represented General Dynamics and Centrus Energy, and that both these companies have strong links to the nuclear submarine business?
- C|T entities are present at various key stages of the political process. It does polling and election campaigns. It represents commercial clients. At the same time former CT executives have had senior roles in the Liberal Party and in the office of the UK and Australian prime ministers. Do you agree (1) that this creates conflicts of interest at the highest political levels? And (2) that it advantages CT clients over others when it comes to political decisions?
Crikey has also sought comment from Finkelstein.
If you have information you wish to pass on about this story please email David Hardaker at dhardaker@protonmail.com
