US and UK nuclear subs already routinely visit Stirling naval base in WA. That arrangement could morph into something short of a lease, such as cost sharing and crew interchanges. If it turns out that plucky little Oz can't manage nearly 100% renewables then sooner or later we'll get nuclear electricity. It would be most odd if the subs were out and civilian nuclear was in. It's a question of when not if.

“China has become a fantastically idiotic target for Canberra's foreign policy dunces”.

That comment from the author is idiotic. Anyone who doesn't see China as a threat is an idiot.

However, it is probably foolish to believe that we will ever see any submarines via AUKUS; and we should be concentrating on our defences NOW, not on some ‘maybe’ scheme in the distant future.

Defence NOW means realising that President Trump has a “sharp nose for sensing when allies are free-riding. Expect that shortly after coming into office Trump will loudly call out Australia for failing to pull its weight – and he’ll be right. He will challenge Albanese, as he did Canada’s Justin Trudeau”. (Peter Jennings, ASA)

There will be a demand for Australia to lift its defence spending from 2% to 3% of GDP. “Big talk” about AUKUS does nothing to deter threats existing now. Any silly yapping about handing our sovereignty over to the US could see us being told to “design your own submarines, deploy your own Marine Corps”.

The US is our “principal security guarantor”.

While CCP missiles can strike our military bases and population centres, Canberra has left us more vulnerable than we have been since WW2 by neglecting our defence now in favour of a “fantasy force” for the late 2030s