Contributed by Jim Hayes

Bob Carr was once a Labor government Foreign Minister. You would expect he might know something about global politics and the key players within it, and he is not shy to speak his mind these days.

His latest is about AUCUS, and that the present Labor government is still intent of the purchase of American nuclear-powered submarines. The $368 billion initial price tag, lamely to grow enormously over the next few years, is a monumental waste of money. This is made much worse by the news from Washington that they may not even be delivered, and that Australia will still be paying for them regardless.

Anthony Albanese have not even questioned this. Nor has the Peter Dutton Coalition. There is obviously a consensus on this matter. subservient and the other calls the shots. This isa far worse than the money involved, and Bob Carr has something to say about this.

Photo by US Navy Chief Petty Officer Joshua Karsten: A Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine like those in the AUKUS deal

In an interview with the Guardian (20 March 2025) he took issue with the reality that if these submarines, should they arrive, are not under Australian control. He was commenting on the release of a report form Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR), which argues that the AUKUS deal had been imposed upon Australia by the Scott Morrison Coalition government and supported by Labor, were implemented in 2021, without public scrutiny, or even debate within the parliament.

The new deal, with seeming political consensus in Australia, is that the submarines will be retained by the US navy and stationed in Australia. While American military command over them was always the intention, this has now been made explicit.

Carr says that without lying the Australian flag, without controls over their deployment, “it involves the total loss of any sovereign submarine capacity, and more than that, a colossal surrender of Australian sovereignty in general…leaving Australia totally integrated in American defence planning and we’ll be hosting even more potential nuclear targets.”

The AWPR wants to lock in parliamentary oversight on any decision to send Australian troops to war.

“The public and the national parliament have been kept in the dark every step of the way,” the report argues, and continues with: “The Aukus pact has become a textbook example of how to disenfranchise the community, providing almost no transparency or democracy in a sweeping decision which will affect Australia for decades.”

The report raises concerns over vague political commitments made by politicians that open the door to loss of control from over who commands the submarines, to the dumping of nuclear waste on Australian soil.

Spokesperson for AWPR and former Australian diplomat, Dr Alison Broinowski, said the AUKUS deal was a manifestation of a structural flaw in what is called Australian democracy, and the failure of politicians to be frank with the people. She calls for Australia to get out of AUKUS.

Bob Carr highlights the dangers of Australia’s security alliance with the United States.

The implication is that Australia must scrap AUKUS, achieve far greater independence in managing our own affairs, and in dealing with the rest of the world.

Note that Malcolm and former Liberal Party and Coalition leader and Prime Minister has also slammed AUKUS. He has called on the Albanese government to withdraw from it.