Former PM Malcolm Turnbull and former foreign minister Bob Carr say Australia must seize chance to urgently review its defence needs
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A chorus of Aukus sceptics, including former prime ministers Paul Keating and Malcolm Turnbull, say a US review represents an “opportunity” for Australia to escape a controversial deal that would cost hundreds of billions of dollars and leave Australia, ultimately, less able to defend itself.
The US department of defense has announced a 30-day review of the Aukus nuclear-powered submarine deal “ensuring that this initiative of the previous administration is aligned with the president’s ‘America first’ agenda,” a Pentagon official said, “and that the defense industrial base is meeting our needs”.