AUKUS NATIONS TAKE PLUNGE ON N-SUBS
PM confirms trilateral submarine program
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has unveiled Australia’s plan to develop and deliver nuclear submarine capacity over a two-decade timeframe, under the defence partnership with the US and the United Kingdom. In San Diego this week, the PM said the US Navy and the UK Royal Navy would step up their visits to Australia from this year, to assist training of defence personnel and to establish capability and capacity for the SSN-AUKUS program. In the early 2030s, the US plans to sell Australia up to five Virginia class submarines. Meanwhile, Australia and the UK will begin work in their domestic shipyards to build the conventionally-armed SSN-AUKUS, based on UK designs. Mr Albanese said it would be only the second time in history that the US granted access to highly-sensitive US nuclear propulsion capability. The estimated cost of the program is up to $368 billion over three decades.
Nuclear-powered, not nuclear-armed, says US President
Announcing the SSN-AUKUS program with Anthony Albanese and British PM Rishi Sunak, US President Joe Biden has moved to reassure Australians that the submarines would be nuclear-powered only, with no nuclear weapons of any kind. President Biden said the project was being undertaken while working “hand in glove” with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Australia would not produce nuclear fuel needed for the submarines, he said.
WA, SA to head submarine training and construction
Australia’s AUKUS submarine program is expected to create around 20,000 direct jobs over the next 30 years, according to the Prime Minister. Anthony Albanese said that at its peak, the building and sustainment of nuclear-powered submarines in Australia would create up to 8,500 direct jobs in the industrial workforce. He said the rotations and presence of the US and UK navies would create an additional 500 direct jobs in Western Australia. In South Australia, an estimated 4,000 workers at peak levels would be employed to design and build the infrastructure for the new submarine construction yard.
Farm output soars to record $90 billion
Australia’s farm production by value is predicted to soar to a record $90 billion this financial year, spurred by high rainfall conditions through 2022 and strong global demand. A report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) forecasts that the strong production will drive record farm exports of $75 billion, with record wheat and canola yields. Under La Niña conditions, the value of farm production has jumped by around $20 billion over the past three years. ABARES predicts, however, that the value of farm production and farm export values will fall to $81 billion and $64 billion respectively in 2023-24 under a return to drier conditions across Australia and an easing in international commodity prices.
US leads foreign commercial investment in Australia
The United States remains the largest commercial investor in Australia, while Chinese interests are still the leading investors in residential real estate, according to latest Federal Treasury figures. In the December quarter of 2022, Treasury approved $58.7 billion in commercial investment proposals, led by the US, with $16.7 billion, followed by China, Singapore, South Korea and Canada. Commercial real estate ($19.3 billion) was the largest target sector for foreign investment in the quarter, ahead of the finance and insurance sector, and manufacturing, electricity and gas industries. A total of 28 proposals were assessed on national security grounds, of which 25 were approved without conditions, and three with conditions.