Exclusive: senior public servant who warned of ‘beating drums of war’ only briefed on day Morrison announced deal
When Aukus was finally announced in September, the government said the cooperation would include “cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and additional undersea capabilities”.Despite the emphasis on cyber and emerging technologies, the Department of Home Affairs – a key national security agency with responsibility for domestic cybersecurity – appears to have not played any significant role in landing the Aukus pact.
The revelation Pezzullo was not part of the Aukus deliberations shows the extent to which the highly sensitive talks with the US and the UK were kept to a small group. The taskforce’s main purpose was to “understand the feasibility of Australia acquiring, operating and sustaining nuclear submarines in the short to medium term”, according to a heavily redacted document obtained from the defence department.
The questions about Australia accessing nuclear-propelled submarine technology included: “Who could it be obtained from, how, and when?” The three-page letter, originally marked SECRET AUSTEO but also obtained under FOI, said Australia’s strategic circumstances had deteriorated and warned that “the rapid introduction of more advanced submarines, sensors and weapons will further complicate the subsurface threat environment over the coming decades”.
The chief defence scientist was made aware of the government’s interest in acquiring nuclear submarines on 10 March 2021 – the same month the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation wasBut the Australian Radioactive Waste Agency “was not consulted in the lead up to the announcement on 16 September 2021”, a response to a Senate question on notice reveals.
After Morrison, Biden and Johnson sketched out the broad parameters of a deal in a meeting on the sidelines of the G7 in June, officials from the three countries gathered in Washington DC in mid-August to negotiate two key documents. Guardian Australia has established Gorely was also a member of the interagency negotiating group, along with a small number of other Dfat officials, in a sign Canberra anticipated the implications of Aukus for nuclear proliferation could become contentious.Indonesia and Malaysia later raised concerns
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