A US NUCLEAR submarine docked at HMAS Stirling last week, the first to undergo maintenance as a part of the AUKUS agreement, but the question of radioactive waste is still in the air.
Vice admiral Jonathan Mead heads up Australia’s nuclear submarine program and welcomed the USS Hawaii to WA waters as part of a ‘submarine tendered maintenance period’ which will see Australian Navy crew work alongside their US counterparts on the Virginia class nuclear submarine – the first time outside of US territory.
VADM Mead said the activity demonstrated the “ramp up” in cooperation between AUKUS partners in anticipation of Australia acquiring its on own nuclear fleet in the early 2030s.
“Our trilateral team are learning together, working together and delivering together,” VADM Mead said.
“Our people are key to the success of AUKUS.
“AUKUS is real, it is happening now.
“We are making history every day in this.
“We are extremely proud of what we have achieved here in Western Australia.”
Whilst much of the community has been wooed by the docking of USS Hawaii, Independent and Peaceful Australia Network representative Jo Vallentine was not impressed, saying the proposed benefits of the AUKUS agreement are a “high price to pay” for the low level nuclear waste that will be deposited on Garden Island.
“The presence of US nuclear submarines at Garden Island in the future will bring to local residents the danger of toxic radiation leaks or accidents from the nuclear reactors on board, endangering their short and long term health. This is a major concern for IPAN – and should be a concern for all Australians,” Ms Vallentine said.
“IPAN believes that hosting US nuclear powered submarines is the worst decision for Australia’s environment and its security.
“Now is the time for Australia to stand as an independent nation and work with peoples in our region and around the world to address the existential threats of climate change and nuclear war and not prepare for more war.”
Despite Fremantle councils explicit nuclear free policy, VADM Mead says the “vast majority” of feedback received from the coastal communities of WA was excitement over the benefits AUKUS will bring, including $8 billion worth of updates to HMAS Stirling over the next decade and an influx of well-paid US personnel into the community.
Vice Admiral William Houston is director of the US Navy’s nuclear propulsion program and said it was an “honour and privilege” to be working on Australian soil.
He said the US was fully committed to AUKUS.
“We don’t look at [AUKUS] as a subtraction, we look at it as an addition,” VADM Houston said.
“AUKUS is a strategic imperative for all three of our nations and it uplifts us all.”
by IMOGEN WALSH