We cannot have an independent foreign policy, or be a force for peace, when our defence industry and the strategic direction of our defence forces is paid for by Australia and controlled out of Washington. #auspol #Greens
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“When the news of this weapon export to Israel broke, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded by saying, “… that particular system was not exported from Australia".
This statement uses a narrow truth to hide a great big lie. It is true that the final export to iSraEL went from the US.”
“When the news of this weapon export to Israel broke, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded by saying, “… that particular system was not exported from Australia".
This statement uses a narrow truth to hide a great big lie. It is true that the final export to Israel went from the US.”
“Think of it like IKEA table. Aust makes all parts of the table, the legs, screws, table top, puts it in a box and sends it to the US. In the US, they put it all together with an Allen key and send it off wherever they choose. This is exactly what happened with EOS’ R400 remote firing cannon.”
“This is Australian technology; these systems were designed and manufactured here in Australia, particularly Queanbeyan and in Canberra. There’ll be delivered from Canberra to the US, and then on to Ukraine."
“This is how Australian-made weapon system ended up in Israel earlier this year. In 2021, Australian manufacturer EOS opened a US subsidiary to put together Australian-made parts of their remote weapon systems. When EOS exported a similar weapons system to Ukraine, they were quite clear about this.”
“As Minister for Defence industry, Pat Conroy, told The New York Times last year when discussing Pillar Two: “We are there to supplement, not supplant, the American industrial base… They [the US] should see this as an opportunity for us to be a second supply line.”
“AUKUS Pillar Two is the systematic expansion of this, from one weapons program to Australia’s entire defence industry. The idea that we are this loyal arm of the US military industry that cannot act independently is not a bug, it is a feature of AUKUS.”
“Aust Govt bragged about this, with more than 70 companies feeding more than $4 billion of parts into the supply line. But once it became clear that these parts were being used in Israeli F-35 fighter planes to commit genocide in Gaza, this information was scrubbed from the Department’s website.”
“We have already seen a pilot version of this deal with Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet program. This US-led weapons program has recruited 15 US allies, including Australia, to build critical parts of the fighter jet to feed into US supply lines.”
“AUKUS Pillar 2 is not partnership of equals. The result will be major US defence companies, Lockheed Martin, General Electric, Raytheon totally dominating Aust industry with goal incorporating Aust into global weapons production chains. With that, comes a dangerous loss of control.”
“The Greens were the only party to oppose the legislation, seeing it as an attack on Australia’s ability to control and direct Australian defence forces and scientific and defence research and technology.”
“These legal changes a US precondition for Australia to receive nuclear submarines under AUKUS Pillar One.
The legislation made it far easier for technology, weapons, and weapons parts to flow back and forth between Australia and the US without formal permits and with far less paperwork. “
“Labor and the Coalition are both paid-up believers of this part of AUKUS. Last year, they pushed through the Defence Trade Controls Amendment Act 2024 as part of a suite of AUKUS-related legislation to bind Australia’s scientific community, industry and military even more firmly to the US. “
“Pillar Two AUKUS is designed to remove export and import controls over weapons, weapons parts and weapons technology between Australia and US. It is sold as increasing our access to US defence technologies. The reality is very different.” #aukus
“Those selling AUKUS have split it into two “pillars”. Pillar One AUKUS nuclear submarine project, Australia signed up $368 billion buy second-hand submarines from US, then design build some more with the UK. Few informed observers thinking it will ever produce nuclear submarines for Australia.”
“The broader implications of AUKUS have suddenly come into focus with an Australian weapons system surfacing in Israel, reportedly having travelled there via the US, as a direct result of AUKUS.”
“When we think of AUKUS, most people picture the dangerous $368 billion gamble on a handful of nuclear submarines. The truth is AUKUS is a lot more, and a lot more dangerous, than these submarines.”
We've just signed up to pay $368 billion for defence, and now, apparently, we need to boost spending on defence dramatically? For whom? To save ourselves, or boost the American war machine?
Comments
This statement uses a narrow truth to hide a great big lie. It is true that the final export to iSraEL went from the US.”
This statement uses a narrow truth to hide a great big lie. It is true that the final export to Israel went from the US.”
The legislation made it far easier for technology, weapons, and weapons parts to flow back and forth between Australia and the US without formal permits and with far less paperwork. “
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