{"id":35380,"date":"2024-10-17T05:37:40","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T21:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dingo.news\/voice\/?p=35380"},"modified":"2026-02-02T22:10:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T14:10:44","slug":"sunk-cost-how-the-aukus-bill-keeps-rising-for-taxpayers-andrew-tillett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dingo.news\/voice\/sunk-cost-how-the-aukus-bill-keeps-rising-for-taxpayers-andrew-tillett\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunk cost: How the AUKUS bill keeps rising for taxpayers – Andrew Tillett"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Taxpayers are facing a bill of up to $20 billion (That is 20,000 x $1,000,000)1<\/sup><\/span> to expand Perth\u2019s shipyard as part of getting it ready to host nuclear-powered submarines and build new warships, in what looms as one of the federal government\u2019s most expensive infrastructure projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

The AUKUS-related price tag dwarfs the cost of the troubled Snowy Hydro 2.0<\/a><\/span>, which has blown out to $12 billion, (That is 12,000 x $1,000,000)  and is almost four times the $5.3 billion cost of Western Sydney Airport.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nDefence Minister Richard Marles will on Wednesday outline how the government plans to consolidate and upgrade shipbuilding operations at the Henderson shipyard south of Perth.<\/span><\/p>\n

The shipyard is just one piece of the expensive AUKUS infrastructure puzzle, with untold billions also required for the expansion of Adelaide\u2019s shipyard, where nuclear-powered submarines will be built, and the eventual establishment of an east coast submarine base. The government has been coy on disclosing granular details of individual parts of AUKUS, a pact involving the US and UK sharing naval nuclear propulsion technology with Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in this rather perverse situation where the government chucks out a figure of $268 billion to $368 billion over decades as the total cost of AUKUS<\/span><\/a>, which is so enormous so that every other number looks trivial,\u201d said former Defence Department official Marcus Hellyer.<\/span><\/p>\n


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\n\u201cBut all of the infrastructure costs for shipyards and facilities are really starting to add up. These are all extremely high costs but if you want these capabilities [of nuclear-powered submarines]2<\/sup><\/span><\/strong> you have to pay these costs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Perth\u2019s shipyard is also earmarked for construction of smaller warships under the government\u2019s continuous naval shipbuilding strategy, which will be underpinned by a $10 billion fleet of new general purpose frigates.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Australia\u2019s new fleet of anti-submarine frigates will cost almost $4 billion each, even before weapons and other key systems are fitted, making them the navy\u2019s most expensive warship <\/strong><\/em>–<\/span><\/span><\/strong> The \u2018criminal price tag\u2019 for the navy\u2019s new warships is $4b a pop<\/span><\/strong><\/a> – <\/strong><\/em>Andrew Tillett<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span> – AFR<\/span><\/strong>
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The 2023 Defence Strategic Review warned about the ongoing viability of the shipyard and the hundreds of jobs it supports unless the government consolidated the various operations instead of spreading work among multiple shipbuilders.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Shipbuilders Civmec and Austal already build ships for the navy and Border Force. British giant BAE Systems<\/a><\/span> performs maintenance on Australia\u2019s ageing Anzac frigates, while the government owned ASC conducts mid-cycle maintenance on Collins class submarines.<\/span><\/p>\n

With nuclear-powered submarines to be based in Perth from 2027 as part of the AUKUS agreement, the government is scrambling to upgrade berthing and maintenance facilities in WA.<\/span><\/p>\n

Already committed is $8 billion to expand HMAS Stirling naval base, located at Garden Island near Rockingham, south of Perth.<\/span><\/p>\n

The government commissioned US project management firm Bechtel to assess the facilities required at Henderson.<\/span><\/p>\n

One source said the company had come up with options costing between $12 billion and $20 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another source said the $20 billion reflected the cost of building two dry docks or ship lifts, a new sea wall, taking over CIVMEC\u2019s large shed, building secure offices and workshops, high-tech fences to create a security zone and restructuring of existing tenancies and possibly an extra floating dock. Some businesses would be evicted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Extra dry docks are a priority. They allow submarines and warships to be worked on out of the water, while also taking pressure off the nation\u2019s only other dry dock in Sydney, which is heavily in demand.<\/span><\/p>\n

To defray some of the burden for taxpayers, the government is considering public-private partnership, a third source said.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"“Public-private partnership” does not inspire any confidence given the war-hungry parasites lined up to take advantage of AUKUS<\/span><\/p>\n

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One piece of industry consolidation is underway, with Australian-listed Civmec buying out its German partner Luerssen to complete construction of the navy\u2019s new patrol boats at Henderson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Luerssen has been looking to exit Australia after this year\u2019s navy review halved the number of patrol boats on order from 12 to six.<\/span><\/p>\n

Civmec notified the ASX on Tuesday evening it had entered a non-binding heads of agreement to acquire the Luerssen Australia subsidiary and transfer the workforce \u2013 a transaction expected to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor us it immediately elevates us in terms of shipbuilding pedigree and gives us a ship design capability,\u201d said Mark Clay, Civmec general manager of defence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:<\/span> Sunk cost: how the AUKUS bill keeps rising for taxpayers<\/span><\/a> | Andrew Tillett | AFR<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Notes<\/span><\/h3>\n

1<\/span>  <\/sup><\/span><\/strong>As we all know, this could blow out to double or treble that amount (the norm) as the funding is unaccountable, protected by old mate National Security.
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2 <\/span> <\/sup><\/strong><\/span>Most people do not want AUKUS or radioactive waste dumped in their country. Unfortunately we have two major parties who do not GAF about what we want. Democracy is dead and they intend to keep it that way<\/a><\/span> too.
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Related<\/span><\/h3>\n