Matt Thistlethewaite says all options on the table for sub base

Speaking in Wollongong, assistant defence minister Matt Thistlethwaite said Port Kembla was not Defence's priority and that immediate attention would be focused on getting HMAS Stirling, in Western Australia ready to support US Virginia class submarines and the Osborne shipyard near Adelaide to manufacture the future SSN AUKUS.

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Preparing a potential east coast base rates a distant third, Mr Thistlethewaite said.

"The Defence Strategic Review indicates that we will need an east coast base, [but] that decision is a long way off. It's not a priority for the government at the moment."

Mr Thistlethwaite has previously said no decision on the location of a base will be made before the next election and the government's response to the Defence Strategic Review states a decision will be made late in this decade.

While Port Kembla has reportedly been Defence's preferred choice for an east coast base, when asked where the government stood on the previous government's shortlist of Port Kembla, Newcastle and Brisbane, Mr Thistlethwaite indicated that other options could be considered.

"Everything is on the table," he said.

A 2011 report prepared by the Defence department on a future east coast base released under a freedom of information request by former senator Rex Patrick selected the navy's current east coast base in Sydney, as the preferred location, with Jervis Bay the runner up.

Newcastle was sixth and Brisbane eighth. Port Kembla was ruled out as being impractical due to it being a small and congested harbour with little space for expansion.

Mr Thistlethwaite said there were some fundamentals when it came to selecting a future east coast base. These included needing deep water access, protection for the vessels, appropriate industry to support the base and having a workforce within the region to draw upon.

Mr Thistlethewaite was in Wollongong to discuss the Defence Strategic Review with community leaders prior to any formal consultation on an east coast base taking place.

"We've got to take our time and get the decision right in the end. But we're keen to hear the views of the community."

Tomorrow, Wollongong Against War and Nukes will hold its own meeting in Port Kembla to "stop the subs".

Wollongong Against War and Nukes member Luke Hocking said the base came with a number of risks.

"Even before a conflict breaks out, nuclear-powered submarines represent unnecessary risks to the local community, and the demands of a nuclear-ready military base will deform our port and our town in the interests of the military establishment."

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