The head of the Illawarra's union movement says nothing has changed in its stance against Port Kembla hosting a fleet of nuclear powered submarines, despite an indication that the Albanese government will back an east coast military base.
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The new military base was a big issue during the election campaign, when then prime minister Scott Morrison identified Port Kembla as one of three locations being considered for the nuclear powered submarines that Australia would acquire from either the UK or US under the AUKUS agreement.
This week, Defence Minister Richard Marles told News Corp Australia that he was awaiting the outcome of a review into the submarine agreement, but noted that defence experts had said an east coast base was important.
"I think it is really important that we allow the force-posture/force-structure review to do its work and so there is a degree to which I want to let that review do its work but we are a two ocean nation and we are going to need to make sure that we have an ability to operate right around the nation," he told News Corp.
Other sites that are being looked into in the review include from Western Port Bay in Victoria, Jervis Bay and Newcastle in NSW, and Brisbane and Gladstone in Queensland.
South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris said unions would push back against a facility at Port Kembla, as they believed it could make the region a military target.
It would also get in the way of a number of renewable energy projects that are tipped to create jobs, he said.
"There's no commitment or announcement here, and all I can say is nothing has changed from our perspective," Mr Rorris said.
"I do want to note that the source of speculation about Port Kembla [being the preferred location] arose from a desperate government that had lost its moral compass in its dying days of office."
"It is neither possible, practical or desirable for our port to be used for these purposes, and in fact would threaten and compromise our current and proposed uses for this port and our long-awaited job bonanza that awaits us with renewable energy."
During the election campaign, Labor's Cunningham candidate - and now MP - Alison Byrnes said she would ensure that the community was consulted on the submarines decision if elected.
She is taking the same approach now, and has urged people in the region to share their views.
"The former Prime Minister dropped the Port Kembla submarine base option on our region on a Sunday night in the lead up to the Federal election with no community consultation and no plan for consultation," she said.
"Decisions about the location of defence assets must take into account a range of, at times, highly sensitive factors.
"I have requested a briefing for Stephen Jones, Fiona Phillips and I from the Defence Minister and asked to be briefed on the assessment of location options, including Port Kembla and its suitability.
"Decisions will also be informed by the independently-led Defence Strategic Review launched recently by the Minister for Defence to look at capability, force structure and answer foundational questions about our strategic circumstances in a changing regional and global environment."
"As the Defence Minister has said, it is important to let the Review do its work and not pre-empt the outcome of the Review."
Ms Byrnes said local stakeholders wanting to make a submission to the Strategic Review could do so before October 30 at https://www.defence.gov.au/about/reviews-inquiries/defence-strategic-review/public-submissions or via email review.submissions@defence.gov.au with the reports due back next year.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
