AUKUS: Josh Wilson first Labor MP to speak out on $368b submarine deal as Greens threaten Albanese’s agenda

The first signs of tension over the $368 billion AUKUS submarine deal have surfaced within Anthony Albanese’s Government after a WA MP took a swipe at the nuclear-powered aspect of the plan. Fremantle MP Josh Wilson became the first Labor MP to break ranks following last week’s announcement, using a speech in the Parliament to voice concerns about the storage of nuclear waste and whether Australia could stick with its nuclear non-proliferation commitment. Three of his Labor colleagues also raised questions about the deal during a closed-door meeting of Federal MPs on Tuesday. The interventions, which followed Labor elder Paul Keating’s extraordinary attack on AUKUS, prompted the Opposition to question if Labor was united on the deal. Cabinet minister Chris Bowen dismissed any suggestions of an internal rift, saying the Labor caucus was “remarkably unified” on the plan to equip Australia with a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. The first hints of unrest over AUKUS have emerged as the Albanese Government faces the prospect of defeats on its major climate and housing legislation. The Coalition’s decision to oppose Labor’s overhaul of the so-called safeguard mechanism and plan to create a $10 billion housing future fund means the Government has been forced into negotiations with the Greens and independents. The crossbenchers are refusing to lock in their support as they demand more ambition on both fronts. The political stalemate over the Government’s plan to cut emissions at the nation’s 215 largest polluters shows no signs of being resolved as Labor continues to reject the Greens’ demand for a ban on new coal and gas projects. Greens leader Adam Bandt seized on the grim findings of the latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to again push his case. “The message from the world’s scientists and the UN Secretary-General is clear: stop opening new coal and gas,” Mr Bandt said. The chasm between the Greens and Labor appears even wider on the housing fund, which aims to deliver 30,000 social and affordable homes in its first five years. The Government plans to deposit $10 billion into a future fund, with the investment returns – up to maximum of $500 million per year – to be spent on housing. Greens’ housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather said there was no guarantee Labor’s plan to “gamble on the stock market” would even deliver its “abysmal” target. Independent senator David Pocock also said the housing plan was not ambitious enough. Having run into difficulties with the Greens, ministers used question time on Tuesday afternoon to berate the Coalition for opposing Labor’s signature policies. Housing Minister Julie Collins said Australians struggling to find affordable housing “need this bill to be passed and they need it passed quickly”. Treasurer Jim Chalmers decried a “wasted decade” of missed opportunities on energy and climate policy. “This coalition of cookers wants to put our future prosperity and the future economy at risk. The nation needs this Parliament to pass the safeguard mechanism,” he said. While at odds on climate policy and the housing fund, Labor and the Coalition have been in lockstep on the AUKUS deal. Mr Wilson became the first major party MP to publicly question aspects of the plan when he told Parliament that he was not “completely convinced that nuclear-propelled submarines are the only or best answer to our strategic needs”. Nor was he properly convinced Australia could properly deal with the non-proliferation risks of “a novel arrangement” where a state with no nuclear weapons under international law could still acquire weapons-grade material. He was also concerned about what to do with the high-level nuclear waste generated by the submarines, pointing out neither the US nor the UK had found an adequate solution yet. Premier Mark McGowan last week said he would not support any waste storage being established on WA land. Mr Wilson said Australians must be able to have “a rigorous and challenging conversation” about security matters. “The AUKUS agreement, arrived at with some characteristically questionable secrecy by the former government, and some strange ministerial arrangements, is not a sports team of which we have all suddenly become life members,” he said. “I could be proved wrong about some of my concerns. Perhaps they’re ill-founded in a way that I don’t perceive, and I can live with that, but I would be wrong already if I wasn’t prepared to identify and voice those concerns which are based on work I’ve done consistently since I was first elected to this place on some of these issues.” Liberal MP James Stevens, from the South Australian seat of Sturt, also told Parliament he had “very significant and grave concerns” that the AUKUS deal wouldn’t deliver on the promised jobs. Shadow Defence Minister Andrew Hastie seized on Mr Wilson’s comments as a sign of division with Labor ranks. “We are calling on the Prime Minister to demonstrate how he will unify his caucus over AUKUS,” Mr Hastie said. “Because if he can’t unify his caucus, he can’t unify the nation as we undergo this 30-year project.” Mr Hastie said Mr Wilson’s stance was particularly alarming given WA was poised to be a major beneficiary of the shipbuilding program. Meanwhile, Mr Albanese has again extended an offer to US President Joe Biden to address the Federal Parliament when he travels to Australia for the Quad leaders’ summit in May.