Letter to the Editor: Call for inquiry Into AUKUS nuclear subs

DEAR News Of The Area,

IN May’s Federal Election, Australians voted against dangerous nuclear reactors, so why is the Australian Government persisting with the AUKUS nuclear submarines deal?

More than 30,000 people have signed a petition calling for an independent parliamentary inquiry into the AUKUS pact.

Is it in our national security and best interests?

Now is the time for a parliamentary, given our UK and US partners are also reviewing AUKUS “anomalies”.

Why should Australia splurge $368 billion on submarines that might never be delivered?

Are they the most effective defence strategy or are there better, less expensive options? Submarine reactors use weapons-grade, highly enriched uranium (HEU), so what are the potential environmental and health impacts if they leak radioactive material?

This has been a recurring problem with nuclear reactors in UK submarines.

Submarine patrol routes, exercise and training areas are necessarily secretive, so what are the risks to civilian vessels navigating the same waters?

Between 1982 and 2015, UK civilian sources documented 170 “interactions” between civilian vessels and nuclear submarines including net “snaggings”, collisions, near misses and at least 30 suspicious unexplained sinkings in UK waters.

These incidents have led to loss of life, total loss of vessels and loss of fishing gear.

We need answers and I urge people to sign the AUKUS inquiry petition on the Australia Institute website.

Regards,
Kenneth HIGGS,
Raymond Terrace.