In the latest instalment of Paint by Numbers, Crikey’s new series about the big issues of the day told via the numbers, we break down some of the astronomical sums involved the AUKUS deal, and look at what we’re getting for our money.
Money already spent on the French submarine deal when it was scrapped: $2.4 billion
Money spent getting out of that deal: $830 million
Money to be “invested” in US shipyards by Australia via AUKUS: $4.53 billion (over five years)
Money to be paid to the UK by Australia to clear “bottlenecks” at the nuclear reactor production line via AUKUS: $4.6 billion (over 10 years)
Total cost of AUKUS to Australia over the next decade: $58 billion
The amount of money the federal government has “squirrelled away” to lift defence funding over the coming decade: $30 billion
Estimated number of experts with at least 20 years’ experience in nuclear technology required: 200
Number of experts with at least 20 years’ experience in nuclear technology currently in Australia: “Virtually nobody“
Number of jobs created during the month of February 2024: 116,000
Number of jobs Labor claims to have created since being in office (as of March 21): 790,000
Number of jobs created over the last 30 years by the Australian economy overall: 6 million
Estimated investment in the Australian industry and workforce over the forward estimates (as of May 2023): $6 billion.
How many jobs the government claims AUKUS will create in Australia over the next 30 years: 20,000
Total cost of AUKUS: $268-368 billion
Cost per job: $13.4-18.4 million
You do not have control over what they spend the money on once it goes to U.S or U.K.
This whole thing to me is farcical as we not have enough people in defence force ( well maybe at the top of that tree)
We could be better off spending money on schools,hospitals and decent infrastructure.
That submarine deal is not only crazy but irrelevant and the logic of buying them does not stack up, the logic of paying workers in other countries to build them is insane
Wikipedia says a Virginia sub costs about $4.3B. If we could buy them for about $6-10B each, I’d say ‘go for it’, but we’re talking over a half trillion! Does not compute!
Bref..that is not including money to U.K
It’s the mention of “jobs being created” that stenches this project out. That’s categorically not why it’s being done. Everything creates jobs, and “everything” probably including “doing nothing”. In this case, it’s like saying Michelangelo’s achievement was creating jobs for indoor scaffolders.
Just remember that Taiwan, Singapore, China and Korea “started from scratch” with their industrial bases over the last 40 years.
We might want to have a collective think why we have stood still or gone backwards over the same period.
Yes, we’ve got all those highly trained people building cars. So if we scrapped that industry and put them onto submarine manufacturing…
Are these UK subs a current model or a new design? Better go and talk to the Swedes about their cheaper smaller more effective Gotland sub.
Our Ameri can overlords won’t allow us to buy something that embarrassed their unsinkable navy.
A nephew of mine was employed as a welder on the last submarine rort in Adelaide. Was paid an absolute packet, way above the regular going rate. Finished up and started his own business (not as a welder) on the proceeds and hasn’t looked back. Yep, plenty of mouths in the trough, some more deserving than others I guess.