AUSTRALIAN SUBMARINES BUILT IN AUSTRALIA
AUKUS
AUKUS will need to be reviewed. At a cost of $368 billion, it is unclear what precisely Australia is getting. Originally, we were intending to buy twelve submarines for $25 billion, but since then the whole matter has escalated out of control and there is no evidence that any submarine is being built for Australia. The fundamental problem with buying a foreign made submarine is, how do you get the parts to fix it and how long will it take, during a war. In Victoria we currently have no submarine pens to dock submarines or service them.
Australian Nuclear Moratorium
Through the AUKUS partnership, the Australian government has explicitly amended existing legislation to create a legal exemption for naval nuclear propulsion. Building diesel-electric submarines should not be affected by an Federal or State moratorium.
Japanese Submarines
The Japanese build their own diesel electric submarines through Mitsubishi Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The Taigei Class Attack Submarine cost JPY73 billion or USD$635 million each (AUD$662 million to AUD$1 billion). They take four years to build and are highly rated. The submarines fire torpedos and harpoon missiles and have a complement of 70. They are an ideal like-for-like replacement for the Collins class submarine.
Building Our Own
It would be in our interests to do a deal with Japan to initially buy and then ultimately build Japanese designed submarines in Australia. The advantage of this, is, we can send Australian engineers to work in Japan to watch and learn how to build these submarines and to develop relationships with the people, who may come to Australia to help us build our submarines. We will need to construct submarine shipwrights and pens, to build, harbour, service and repair our own boats. This policy will create tens of thousands of jobs and enable us to train future generations in the submarine building industry. The spin-off ancillary businesses that will be created to support the submarine programme will also create thousands of jobs. All the expense incurred will remain in Australia, directly boasting our economy. Within ten years we could have six brand new submarines, which can replace the Collins class submarines and then compliment the AUKUS submarines when they arrive.
Infrastructure and Job Creation
The new submarine yard will be built in accordance with the requirements of the Mitsubishi yard. Using the South Australian new Osborne Submarine Construction Yard as a guide. This project would need to allocate $30 billion. Fabrication Area approx. $5 billion, Outfitting Area approx. $8 billion, Consolidation, Testing and Launching Area approx. $15 billion and a Skills and Training Academy $500 million. This site spans an area of 75 hectares, with the fabrication hall 420 metres long. Whether the Victoria yard will need to be this large remains to be determined. So, the costs could be considerably lower, but working in conjunction with South Australia, could yield savings on production costs. This project is expected to employ 4,000 workers to design and build the construction yard; and up to another 5,000 workers directly and indirectly building the submarines.
The original Osborne submarine yard (ASC North) in South Australia was established in the late 1980s, with construction commencing after the contract was signed in June 1987 and the facility officially opening in 1989. The specialized shipyard was built specifically for the Collins-class project, which began construction in 1990. To build six Collins-class submarines, designed by Kockums. The facility took about two years to build and prepare for the production of the first boat, HMAS Collins.
