Malcolm Turnbull joins Paul Keating in smashing AUKUS nuclear submarine deal amid ‘sick’ UK economy

Malcolm Turnbull is the second former prime minister in as many days to nix the government’s historic AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday announced a $368 billion deal with the United States and the United Kingdom that will secure eight high-tech submarines over the next 30 years.

On Wednesday, ex-Labour Prime Minister Paul Keating described AUKUS as “the worst deal since World War I”.

Mr Turnbull apologized to ABC Radio for not “being able to express his concerns as colorfully as Paul’s” before also devastating the deal.

“The reality is that this is going to take a lot more time, cost a lot more money – take a lot more risks and cost a lot more money than if we went ahead with the submarine project that we had with France, which Morrison recklessly canceled,” he said.

Mr Turnbull also cast doubt on Britain’s ability to keep its end of the deal – which includes starting construction of a new fleet of nuclear submarines by the end of this decade.

“The bottom line is that their economy is sick. It has fundamental, existential problems,” he said.

Australia will command a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines over the next three decades as part of an accelerated plan to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific

“One has to wonder, given the huge demand they have elsewhere, will Britain be able to sustain investment in its navy and military for years to come.”

The UK economy has suffered repeated setbacks due to Brexit, Covid, the war in Ukraine and instability from constant leadership changes.

Despite his concerns, Mr. Turnbull noted that the AUKUS deal was “done and committed”.

“I don’t think there’s going back,” he said

Mr Turnbull, who was Prime Minister as leader of the Liberal Party from 2015 to 2018, also questioned whether there had been a thorough risk assessment.

“This is not criticism, this is an observation of reality. Every new class of naval vessel carries enormous risks,” he said.

But he dismissed Mr Keating’s description of the deal as “the worst since the First World War” and argued: “I wouldn’t go into that. My concerns are more limited.’

Former Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating has slammed the Albanian government over the AUKUS Defense Pact

Malcolm Turnbull is the second former prime minister in as many days to nix the government’s historic AUKUS nuclear submarine deal

Mr Turnbull said there had not been enough talk beforehand about the ins and outs of the deal.

‘Morrison deceived the French, misled the Americans, a shocking affair. He did everything in secret. He boasts about it… He was obsessed with secrecy.

“There has not been a fully transparent public debate on these issues. We’ve been caught up in this hoopla, and anyone who raises any concerns is implied to lack patriotism.

“I think there are big problems.”

Still, the criticism pales in comparison to what Mr Keating said on Wednesday.

During an appearance at the National Press Club on Wednesday, the famously sharp-tongued ex-PM Anthony Albanese took Richard Marles, Penny Wong, US President Joe Biden, intelligence agencies and virtually any reporter who dared ask him a question.

“Because I have a brain. Mainly,’ he said. “And I can think. And I can read. And I read every day.

“I mean, why would China want to threaten… What would be the point? You get the iron ore, the coal, the wheat.

“What’s the point of China wanting to occupy Sydney and Melbourne? Military?’

‘And could they ever do that? Could they ever bring the numbers here? It would take an armada of troop ships to do so.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday announced a $368 billion deal with the United States and the United Kingdom that will secure eight high-tech submarines over the next 30 years

‘So you don’t need a briefing from the stupid security agencies we have in Canberra to tell you that. I mean, I know you’re trying to ask a question, but the question is so stupid it hardly deserves an answer.”

Mr Keating accused the Albanian government of accepting the $360 billion deal negotiated by the previous Morrison government in just 24 hours.

“How would you do that in 24 hours?” asked Mr. Keating.

“You can only do it if you don’t have the perceptual skills to understand the weight of the choices you have to make.

“That’s what others call incompetence. I might call it ‘try’.’

Mr Keating called it the worst decision by a Labor government since World War I, when Prime Minister Billy Hughes backed conscription, and said the whole deal was based on the mistaken notion that China posed a direct threat to Australia.

“It’s a distortion and it’s not true,” Mr. Keating said of the idea. “The Chinese have never indicated that they would threaten us or said so explicitly.”

Mr. Keating ridiculed the idea that the submarines would protect Australia from a Chinese invasion.

“The idea that we need American submarines to protect us, if we buy eight, there are three at sea,” he said.

“Three will protect us from the power of China. Really! I mean the junk of it. The garbage.’

Mr Keating argued that the deal merely dragged Australia into the US strategic orbit to maintain its dominance in the Asia-Pacific region, but left the national interest in the “deep doo-doo”.

Mr Keating also took aim at Defense Secretary Richard Marles and Foreign Secretary Penny Wong, saying the AUKUS deal was a failure of strategic thinking.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk