No art in this deal, just plain deception
THE coalition government under Morrison needed a boost before the next election after they got nearly everybody off-side with their botched Covid vaccine procurement. To update our submarine program and tell the constituency what was good for the country seemed to be the winner. However, there are ways of doing things. Instead of involving the country we had a binding contract with in our change of mind and ruminations, we sent them a letter expressing satisfaction about the deal, while in negotiations with another country about another deal, only to reveal next day the successful outcome of those negotiations. That is not diplomacy. It is outright deception and disrespect, if not absolute foolishness.
France has very close ties with the rest of the European Union. Everybody knows now we are not to be trusted and will treat us with disdain.
We are without submarines we can rely on for another 30 years and don’t know the price of the new deal or the cancellation cost of the old one. On top of that we haven’t got the expertise to maintain the technology and are beholden to the manufacturer. In short, this deal is curtailing our sovereignty.
There is talk about leasing existing functioning submarines in order to fill the gap. If that is an option, why don’t we go for that for good? Germany is experimenting with hydrogen-powered subs right now. That may be the deal for the future? There would be better options out in the world rather than to tie us to ailing Big Brother for a very long time, which would restrict our foreign policy options enormously.
Ute Mueller
Lapoinya