MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sunday 15 September 2024
AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE INTERVIEW: Professor Richard Tanter; Dr Vince Scappatura
- 15 September marks three years since the Morrison Government sprung AUKUS on all Australians
- $368B for 8 nuclear submarines at the expense of urgent climate mitigation, housing, hospitals, education
- IPAN to host Zoom Webinar Mon 16 Sep, 7 pm AEST: AUKUS and B-52s Politics, Sovereignty and Security– Speakers will be Prof the Hon Gareth Evans, Professor Richard Tanter and Dr Vince Scappatura
“It’s now three years since the creation of an enhanced trilateral security partnership AUKUS, between Australia, the UK and USA, but this is not a cause of celebration, rather its implications should be feared” said Professor Richard Tanter, Researcher at the Nautilus Institute, and spokesperson for the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network.
The forward-basing of B-52 bombers in Australia and the planned acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines should signal alarm. This forward-basing of B-52s expands Australia’s nuclear posture from existing nuclear intelligence and communications assistance via Pine Gap and North West Cape to potentially direct Australian Defence Force participation in support of US nuclear combat operations from Australian territory”, stated Professor Tanter.
In addition, there is great concern about US B-52 Bombers being nuclear-capable, with there being no domestic or international legal or policy barriers to US aircraft carrying nuclear weapons when entering Australia.
Professor Tanter along with Dr Vince Scappatura conducted a study that provides a reliable and transparent source for Australia and other host countries to distinguish between nuclear-capable and conventional-only B-52s bombers.
This research study, based on open sources, could have been – and should have been – carried out by the Australian government and provided to the public. The Australian people deserve transparency and honesty around this.
“Also of concern is that the nuclear submarines to be acquired under AUKUS are destined for hunter-killer operations in distant waters (e.g. Taiwan Strait), not for the defence of Australia in our shallow approach waters. It appears clear that the acquisition of these submarines is designed to support the strategy of the USA and its AUKUS partners to contain and confront China militarily and risk starting World War III”, stated Professor Tanter.
“If such a war broke out, nuclear submarine ports as well as other US military facilities in Australia such as Pine Gap, North West Cape and the Tindall RAAF Base (with US B52 Bombers operating from there), all become military targets for enemies of the United States”, Professor Tanter said.
“Now is the time for Australia to stand as an independent nation and work with peoples around the world to address the existential threats of climate change and nuclear war and not to prepare for more war”.
“AUKUS also represents a massive opportunity cost in terms of what could be spent on housing, health and education”.
The Zoom Webinar featuring Professor Tanter and Dr Scappatura speaking about their research will also feature Professor the Hon. Gareth Evans speaking about the politics behind the AUKUS decision.
To Register https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0odO-rqjMoGNHF7KKBx9O5EdJz0xGXCbii
For Media Interviews:
Professor Richard Tanter 0407 824 33
Dr Vince Scappatura 0422 837 002
Media Liaison: Jonathan Pilbrow 0403 611 815
IPAN will also be facilitating conversation about these and other critical issues at their national conference from 4-6 October in Perth, where the UK and US are fast tracking the HMAS Stirling naval base nuclear submarines base at Garden Island, 48 km south of Perth CBD, in a move that only serves to further militarise Australia. ipan-conference-2024-sleepwalking-into-war
Bios
Professor Richard Tanter is Senior Research Associate at the Nautilus Institute. Richard is a researcher and writer on the US bases and their influence on Australian foreign policy. He recently published Does Pine Gap place Australia at risk of complicity in genocide in Gaza? A complaint concerning the Australian Signals Directorate to the Inspector General of Security and Intelligence, 27 March 2024.
Dr Vince Scappatura is a Sessional Academic in the Macquarie School of Social Sciences at Macquarie University, and author of The US Lobby and Australian Defence Policy, Melbourne: Monash University Publishing, 2019. Dr Scappatura was a Panel Member for the IPAN People’s Inquiry (2020-2022)