Bob Carr says Aukus submarine deal is "living a lie"
Former Labor foreign affairs minister Bob Carr has said officials in Canberra and Washington acknowledge that the United States will never send nuclear submarines to Australia.
Carr made the remarks to Guardian Australia's weekly Australian Politics podcast. He described the $368bn Aukus agreement, the defence arrangement that includes nuclear-powered submarines, as Australia and the United States "living a lie".
Carr said it is now conventional wisdom in Washington and Canberra that Australia will not get the submarines and will be assembling an alternative.
The money is already flowing. Australia has paid more than $3bn to support US submarine manufacturing. That is part of promised payments of about $4.6bn over the life of the deal.
The timetable still includes American boats. The first Virginia-class nuclear submarine from the US is due to arrive in Australia in 2032, with another arriving every four years. The bespoke SSN Aukus model, a submarine designed for the deal, is due to come online in 2042.
The Albanese government says Aukus is proceeding as intended. It points to the support of US President Donald Trump, who has pledged full support for the arrangement.
Carr's comments put the deal's future back in the spotlight. Whether the submarines arrive on the schedule now set out is a question the two governments will need to keep answering.
