Malcolm Turnbull joins Paul Keating to crash AUKUS nuclear submarines deal amid ‘sick’ UK economy

Malcolm Turnbull has become the second former prime minister in as many days to criticize the government’s landmark AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.

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

On Wednesday, the former Labor prime minister, Paul Keating, called AUC “the worst deal since World War I”.

Mr Turnbull apologized on ABC Radio for not being able to “articulate his concerns as colorfully as Paul”, before turning to the brutal bargain as well.

“The reality is that this is going to take a lot longer, it’s going to cost a lot more money – it’s much more risky and it costs a lot more money than if we had embarked on the submarine project we had with France, which Morrison recklessly canceled,” he said.

Mr Turnbull has also raised doubts about the UK’s ability to keep its end of the deal – which includes starting to build a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines by the end of this decade.

“The bottom line is that their economy is sick. There is a kind of fundamental and existential problem.

“You have to ask yourself, whether Britain will be able to maintain investment in its navy and army in the coming years, given the huge demand that they have elsewhere.”

The UK economy has suffered repeated blows on the back of Brexit, Covid, the war in Ukraine and instability from the ongoing leadership changes.

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

He said, “I don’t think there’s any going back from it.”

Turnbull, who was prime minister as leader of the Liberal Party from 2015 to 2018, also questioned whether there was a comprehensive risk assessment.

This is not a criticism, it is an observation of reality. Each new class of naval vessel carries with it serious risks.

But he dismissed Keating’s description of the deal as “the worst since World War I”, arguing: “I wouldn’t buy into it. My concerns are more limited.”

Turnbull said there had not been enough discussion about the pros and cons of the deal beforehand.

Morrison had deceived the French, misled the Americans, and shocked business. He did it all in secret. He bragged about it… He had an obsession with secrecy.

There has not been a fully transparent public debate on these issues. We have fallen into this hoopla and anyone who expresses any concerns means they lack patriotism.

“I think there are big issues.”

Still, the criticism pales in comparison to comments Keating made on Wednesday.

During his appearance at the National Press Club on Wednesday, the acid-tongued former prime minister lashed out at Anthony Albanese, Richard Marlies, Benny Wong, US President Joe Biden, the intelligence agencies and any reporter who dared ask him a question.

Because I have a brain. He said. ‘And I can think.’ And I can read. I read every day.

“I mean, why would China want to threaten… what’s the point? They get iron ore, coal, wheat.

What is the purpose of China’s desire to occupy Sydney and Melbourne? militarily?’

Can they do that? Can they bring the numbers in here? It would be a fleet of troop ships to do so.

So you don’t need a briefing from our security boobies in Canberra to tell you that. I mean, I know you’re trying to ask a question, but the question is so stupid, it’s not worth answering.

But Albanese hit back on Thursday, saying Australia’s relationship with China is markedly different than it was three decades ago.

“The world has changed,” he told 3AW Radio.

China has changed his stance and position in world affairs since the 1990s when Paul Keating was active in politics, both as a parliamentarian and as a leader.

“My job is to judge Australia in 2023 based on what we see are the realities before us.”

Keating accused the Albanian government of accepting the $360 billion deal, which Morrison’s previous government had negotiated, in just 24 hours.

“How are you going to do this in 24 hours?” asked Mr. Keating.

You can only do this if you do not have the cognitive ability to understand the weight of the decisions you are asked to make.

This is what others call incompetence. I’ll call it maybe “try”.

Describing it as the worst decision by a Labor government since World War One when Prime Minister Billy Hughes endorsed conscription, Mr Keating said the whole deal was based on the false notion that China was a direct threat to Australia.

“It is a distortion and it is not true,” Mr. Keating said of this idea. “The Chinese never hinted that they would threaten us or said so outright.”

Keating scoffed at the idea that submarines would protect Australia from Chinese invasion.

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

Three will protect us from the power of China. truly! I mean, rubbish of it. Garbage.’

All the deal did, Keating argued, was to pull Australia into the strategic orbit of the United States to maintain its hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region, while leaving the national interest in a “deep doo-doo”.

Keating also criticized Secretary of Defense Richard Marlis and Secretary of State Penny Wong, saying that the American University in Kosovo deal was a failure of strategic thinking.

The three countries are confident of their continued compliance with nuclear non-proliferation requirements.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, Wang Wenbin, attacked the American University in Kosovo agreement for its “sounding rhetoric to deceive the world” regarding nuclear non-proliferation.

He said that “the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and the IAEA secretariat have no right to conclude an agreement among themselves on safeguards issues regarding cooperation on the AUKUS nuclear submarine”.

“Safeguards issues related to cooperation in nuclear submarines should be discussed and decided upon by the international community.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Keating’s comments showed a split within the Labor Party over AUKUS.