Author: robert.vose

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Inside AUKUS – Crikey

Australia’s $368 billion AUKUS submarine deal raises more questions than it answers. Led by Scott Morrison, a prime minister who had a habit of covert dealings and fudging reality, it is one of the most egregious expenditures in the nation’s history. In this new series, investigations editor David Hardaker delves into the reality of the political relationships with defence and its lucrative contracts.

https://www.crikey.com.au/topic/inside-aukus/
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Gotland class submarines

https://www.facebook.com/interestingengineering/videos/662395635773083/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotland-class_submarine

Deisel/ electric submarines need to surface for air every few days.
One of the supposed advantages of nuclear submarines is they can stay submerged for weeks or months without needing to surface for air.

The Gotland class of submarines from the Kockums shipyard in Sweden are the first to be powered by sterling engines while submerged. It allows them to stay submerged for weeks at a time, and they are also very quiet, stealthy and highly maneuverable. In trials, they have recorded significant kills.

What criteria were used to select nuclear-powered submarines for Australia? They are an extremely poor choice on cost and times scale to deliver. It would take decades to build up the infrastructure and expertise to be able to manage and handle nuclear-powered vessels. The political issues with nuclear power alone are a major barrier to a successful program.

Australia currently has a fleet of six Collins-class submarines. The Gotland class of submarines would be worth exploring, as they were both based on designs by the Kockums shipyards in Sweden and the transfer of technology would be more seamless, compared to nuclear-powered submarines. With sterling engines they may offer many of the advantages that the nuclear-powered submarines are supposed to offer.

The Collins class is an enlarged version of the Kockums Västergötland-class submarine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collins-class_submarine
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Structure of the Australian Federation

https://7gs.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/structure.png

The diagram above shows the Legislative Branch of the Australian Federation.
It includes the monarch as head of state, the Crown of Australia, the representatives of the head of state, and the parliaments.
It shows the one-to-many relationship between the monarch and his representatives, the Governor-General for the federal tier and the Governors for the states’ tier, respectively.

The next diagram shows the situation for Ireland. Ireland had a one-to-one relationship between the monarch and his representative, the Governor-General for the Irish Free State.

https://7gs.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/One_to_one.png

The model for the Republic of Ireland will not work for Australia. The proposals by the ARM for the 1999 referendum and the Australia Choice Model take their inspiration from the Irish model and will not work.

The next diagram shows how the structure of Australia’s Federation would change if the ARM Australia Choice Model is adopted through a referendum. With the ARM models, the monarch and Crown are abolished, and the Governor-General is promoted to head of state, similar to how Ireland transformed into a republic.

The ARM models leave many question marks and do not adequately think through the transition to a republic. The job is half done, with a half-baked republic being the result.

https://7gs.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Structure_of_ChoiceModel.png

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Home affairs tried to water down report critical of ‘extraordinary’ counter-terror powers, documents reveal – Guardian

Department of Home Affairs officials told researchers to water down a key report that threatened to undermine the government’s use of “extraordinary” counter-terror powers allowing individuals to be imprisoned for a crime they have not yet committed, documents show.

Australia’s preventive detention regime for terror offenders, which allows individuals to be imprisoned for up to three years to prevent a future crime, has been described as “extraordinary” and disproportionate by the nation’s independent national security laws watchdog, who called for its abolishment in March and said it was causing Australia to become a “coarser and harsher society”.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/11/home-affairs-tried-to-water-down-report-critical-of-extraordinary-counter-terror-powers-documents-reveal

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Our minerals are ripe for the plucking by the US

The two big risks to Australia here are, firstly, jeopardising whatever is left of our mining sector’s historic relationships of trust with our major mining market in China. Any Australian mining company currently selling to China could have its relationships and operations there crippled if it went into business with US mining companies on this basis. It is pure mercantilism, to put it bluntly – aimed at cutting out Chinese competition in a fair marketplace.

Secondly, the proposals set out in the ASPI paper for US-majority-owned mining companies to dictate and determine development of industry processing of critical minerals in Australia contradict Australian aspirations for economic sovereignty. They would put Australia firmly back in our place as a raw materials supplier to the Metropolis, and nothing more – as we were in British Empire days. This cries out for Paul Keating’s acerbic pen.

I have no confidence in the ability of the present Australian Government, dazzled by the US alliance, to manage these negotiations in our national interest – either commercially or strategically. I fear we will once again be exploited and entrapped by our great and powerful – and clever – friend.

https://johnmenadue.com/ripe-for-the-plucking/
Our minerals are ripe for the plucking by the US