AUSTRALIA'S PLAN TO ACQUIRE NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINES
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COSTS
* The plan to acquire a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines will cost in the range of $268 billion to $368 billion over the next three decades - an average of 0.15 per cent of GDP each year.
* It'll cost the budget $9b over the next four years, but this will be offset by $6b being reallocated from the cancelled French submarine contract, and a further $3b from the current defence department budget.
* Between $50-58b will be spent on the program over the next decade, but $24 billion is expected to be saved from the cancelled contract.
WHERE THE MONEY IS GOING
* Around $2b will be spent in South Australia over the next four years to prop up the Osborne shipyard and supporting infrastructure in Adelaide to build the next-generation submarines.
* A total of $6b will be spent on Australian industry and workforce.
* About $3b will be spent offshore on US and UK production lines to acquire the submarines, with capacity already stretched in both nations.
* Some $8b will be spent expanding the HMAS Stirling naval base, including wharf upgrades, maintenance and training facilities and supporting infrastructure.
* $4.3-$6.4b for extending the life of Australia's current Collins class fleet.
JOBS
* 20,000 Australian jobs over the next three decades.
* 4000 jobs at the peak of construction in Adelaide, with 4000 to 5500 jobs being supported to assemble the submarines at the height of the program in the coming decades.
* 3000 workers to upgrade the HMAS Stirling naval base south of Perth, with an additional 500 jobs to uphold the base during rotations of US and UK nuclear submarines between 2027 and 2032.
NUCLEAR WASTE
* The submarines will not need to be refuelled in their lifetime. Nuclear waste produced by the first defuelling works in the 2050s will be stored on defence land, with further details to be announced this year.
NON-PROLIFERATION
* Australia maintains it is compliant with the nuclear non-proliferation regime and the Treaty of Rarotonga, which prohibits the use, testing or possession of nuclear weapons in the South Pacific.
* The government will not seek to acquire, test, or host nuclear weapons, with the non-proliferation treaty allowing for the use of nuclear technology.
* Australia doesn't have the technology to enrich uranium to a weapons-grade level and is not seeking to acquire it.
* The nuclear cores will be welded shut to prevent Australian personnel from accessing the material.
* The International Atomic Energy Agency is providing oversight to ensure Australia's compliance, with the director general Rafael Mariano Grossi expressing his satisfaction with the engagement and transparency offered by AUKUS nations.
* China has criticised AUKUS for sparking an arms race in the region and failing to uphold non-proliferation standards. Beijing also operates nuclear-powered submarines.
Australian Associated Press
