Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia’s push to acquire nuclear submarines has always been about one thing: preventing war in the Pacific.
Mr Morrison said purchasing nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact with the US and UK would make any adversary preparing to attack Australia think twice.
“AUKUS and the Quad were the two most significant checks on Chinese assertion in our region that we had seen in 20 years,” he told AAP.
Mr Morrison, who orchestrated the AUKUS deal before its public announcement in September 2021, said AUKUS and the Quad – which includes the US, Japan and India – would be integral to countering Chinese aggression.
“I knew it would have a big impact on Australia’s wealth for generations,” he said.
Scott Morrison poses in his office after Question Time on Tuesday amid speculation he might soon be leaving politics
“All these interlocking relationships and alliances and agreements… are designed to do one thing – to make sure no one thinks going to that next level is a good idea.”
As speculation mounts over which submarine option the Albanian government will choose, the former prime minister said the original plan was to have the three nations put more nuclear submarines into the water.
“It wasn’t about one of these countries building our boats. This was about all three countries that had more boats,” he said.
“So we had to look at something that would improve that overall power.”
Defense Secretary Richard Marles echoes the language used by his American and British counterparts that the new submarines will be “a true collaboration between all three countries.”
Some reports suggest that a British Astute-class submarine could be used with a US weapon system.
An awkward handshake between Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (center right) and French President Emmanuel Macron (center left)
Mr Morrison said that while that option ‘doesn’t make it a trilateral boat’, an increase in interoperability should be welcomed.
“That could mean more American guns on more British boats,” he said.
So that’s good for Americans. That’s good for the British. The whole point of AUKUS was to boost everyone, not drain anyone for the benefit of the others.’
Signing the AUKUS pact included tearing up a contract with France to build conventional submarines, costing Australian taxpayers $584 million.
A decision on the submarine project – the largest Australian defense purchase in history – is expected this month.
There is speculation that Scott Morrison will finally leave politics for an easy job as an adviser as the ex-premier quits Question Time early
By Nic White for Daily Mail Australia
Scott Morrison has walked out of Question Time early as speculation mounts that he will soon leave politics for the private sector.
The former prime minister was rebuked by the House of Representatives on November 30 because of the ‘minister of everything’ scandal.
Parliament condemned him by a vote of 86 to 50 for secretly sworn himself in for five additional ministries in 2020 and 2021.
Apart from a defiant speech defending himself against the censure, Mr Morrison has not spoken in parliament since losing the May 22 election.
The MP for Cook left the room just before 3pm on Tuesday, well before Question Time ended at 3.21pm.
The MP for Cook left the room just before 3pm on Tuesday, well before Question Time ended at 3.21pm.
Mr Morrison is said to have left to prepare for an interview with Australia’s Associated Press, which did not begin until after Question Time had ended.
He will receive $217,060 a year, the backbencher’s base salary, while serving in Parliament.
Sky News reported that ‘informed sources’ believed he would leave politics for a lucrative overseas consultancy job by the end of the year.
Mr Morrison said in response that if he had anything to say about his political future, he would make it.
For now, he insisted he was “dutifully doing his job as a local MP and had returned to The (Sutherland) Shire to live peacefully with his family,” Sky reported.
The staunch Liberal Party said in another interview over the weekend that he enjoyed his time as a backbencher.
“It’s quite liberating,” he said when asked what it was like to be a backbencher, noting that it was “exhausting” to hold ministries and then be Prime Minister for 10 years.
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said she had been friends with Mr Morrison for “many years” but had heard nothing about his retirement plans.
“He will make a decision in the best interest of himself and his family and the people of Cook,” she said.
