A labour union has expressed alarm after newly released documents revealed Port Kembla as the preferred east coast base for Australia's proposed nuclear-powered submarines under the Aukus pact. The South Coast Labour Council warned that the move would “place a massive target on our backs” and urged politicians to reconsider.
Documents prepared by the former New South Wales Liberal government and tabled in state parliament on Friday named Port Kembla, 75km south of Sydney, as the preferred site. The papers acknowledged the base could make the area “a target for Australian military adversaries”.
Arthur Rorris, secretary of the South Coast Labour Council, criticised the secrecy surrounding the report and highlighted local concerns. “There are schools within walking distance of the proposed base, and the project would significantly affect health services, roads and house prices,” he said.
The outcry comes as Aukus spending blows out and US submarine building falls further behind schedule. Rorris said it was becoming clearer that Australia might not get its own nuclear submarines, and Port Kembla could become “a base for US subs that we are paying for”.
Labor Against War national convener Marcus Strom called for the NSW government to rule out the base. “We’ve been saying the whole time that Aukus doesn’t make us safer, it makes us an active participant in US war planning and that will just make us a target,” he said.
Local opposition has been strong, with more than 40 organisations signing the Port Kembla declaration in September, and 4,000 residents marching from Wollongong to Port Kembla in 2023 to protest against the base.
