Calls are growing for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to appoint an AUKUS Tsar with the power to oversee the delivery of key projects amid concerns Australia is falling behind on its most costly and ambitious defence strategy in the nation’s history.
'No discernible plan': Former defence minister Linda Reynolds calls for new AUKUS tsar after ex-British minister accused Australia of 'hubris', delay over the deal
“It is time for them to speak up and clearly say to the Australian and Western Australian authorities, you’ve got to get moving. they must also be more pro-active in providing specific advice on how we can get there.”Before entering politics, Senator Reynolds was a senior army logistician and project manager, who held the rank of Brigadier.
"If it’s a national endeavour, then these things just need to get done. It’s very much a ‘JFDI’ proposition, I would suggest," she said. Former defence minister Linda Reynolds has called out Labor over a key WA military base involved in the AUKUS deal. Pictured is Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard
While AUKUS is intended to be a whole-of-nation endeavor that unofficially pushes back on China’s strategic rivalry, there are fears it has become at least to some, another big problematic program. “If Australia is not ready for SRF-West, it provides ammunition for those in Congress and Westminster who are not supportive of AUKUS to say, ‘see we told you so. It wasn’t a good idea, and we shouldn’t have done it.’”
Plans have long been discussed to thoroughly upgrade the Henderson shipyards, but after five years, work has yet to start.
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