“armed forces” above, not those medical pliers!

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Dear ttbn,

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You noted :

1. « UKUS? You left Australia out of AUKUS, … »
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Yes, thanks for pointing it out, ttbn. That’s an interesting “lapsus calami” isn’t it ?

It reveals my profound, instinctive aversion to what is clearly a pact of voluntary servitude of Australia to the Us and its subordinate, the UK, in what Scomo soft-pedals as a “forever partnership” – but which, at least so far as Australia is concerned, no more than a pact of “forever servitude”.
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2. « … and the Pentecostals are not part of the deal as far as I know »
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That’s correct, ttbn. But Scomo is a Pentecostal Christian and he negotiated and signed the deal on behalf of the Australian government.
His presentation of the deal as a “forever partnership” intrigues me. Something that lasts forever is eternal. Nothing in this world is eternal. He seems to be projecting his religious beliefs onto Australia’s business dealings.

I also find it quite amazing that just 24 hours after having broken Australia’s monumental 20 year “contract of the century” with France, just five years after it began, he switched to a new supplier and “forever partner”.

It seems to me that Scomo’s track record as a “forever partner” leaves quite a lot to be desired.
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Personally, I would like to see Australia assume its responsibilities as an independent nation in the Indo-Pacific. We seem to be heading in the opposite direction.

For many of us, our origins are in Europe, but we are not a European nation. It’s high time we realised it and changed our mindset.

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BJ,

There is no "voluntary servitude": Australia and America are allies. We need the US more than they need us, and we would be toast without them as long as Communist China exists and continues to menace us.

Are Morrison’s personal beliefs any different from those of an atheist, like Bob Hawke, or a Catholic or a Presbyterian, doing deals on our behalf? You are aware of the separation of church and state in this country?

Given Communist China's aggression, we could simply not survive without allies these days. We are an "independent nation", just like Japan, India and the US, who don't feel joining 'The Quad' robs them of independence, but increases their security against a bully like China.

Australia is still principally European culturally. Geographically, Europe means little to us except in terms of trade. We will always be part of the Anglosphere, and part of the British Commonwealth, which includes a very wide variety of cultures, beliefs and styles of government.

We have lots of friends. China has few. It is our friendships, including the one with the United States of America, that will keep us safe from China. Going it alone is not an option

Hi Issy,

Nah! "forceps" is the correct word, we need 4 million armed forcep holders to pull Morrison out of Biden's arse, He's stuck that far up it!

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Dear ttbn,

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You wrote :

« Australia and America are allies … we could simply not survive without allies these days. We are an "independent nation", just like Japan, India and the US, who don't feel joining 'The Quad' robs them of independence … »
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That’s correct, ttbn, we already benefit from five important National Security Treaties, none of which rob us of our independence :

1. The ANZUS Treaty (1951) formalises the Australia-New Zealand-US defence alliance

2. The Five Power Defence Arrangements (1971) facilitate bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the defence forces of Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom

3. The Treaty of Rarotonga (1986) created a South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, prohibiting the testing, production, acquisition, possession or stationing of nuclear weapons in the region

4. The Truce and Peace Monitoring on Bougainville, Papua New Guinea (1997 and 1998) agreements between Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Fiji and Vanuatu concern the establishment and operations of the neutral Truce (and subsequently Peace) Monitoring Group on Bougainville

5. The QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) 2007 re-established in 2017 between Australia, India, Japan, and the US for the Indo-Pacific

The new AUKUS partnership is an entirely different kettle of fish. It is not a mutual National Security Treaty per se. It is a contract to equip Australia with US nuclear submarines and the wherewithal to operate them, including state-of-the-art military technology and cyber-defence.

As Australia does not have a nuclear industry and is bound by its commitment to the Treaty of Rarotonga to remain nuclear-free, the new AUKUS partnership will inevitably result in the US exercising de facto control of the Australian navy and – icing on the cake – play a dominate role not only in determining but actually commanding our military strategy and operations.

Our “forever commitment” to the AUKUS partnership will render us totally dependent on the US in every sense of the word.

We will no longer be an “independent nation”. We will have forfeited our sovereignty.

Maybe we should see what the French have to offer as an alternative.

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A Uyghur Muslim terrorist attacks a mosque in Afghanistan, killing 50 people, some no doubt Taliban members. The reason for the attack is the Taliban are sending Uyghur's back to China for "re-education". ISIS is at war with the Taliban, they view the Taliban as too moderate soft cocks, and sell outs. The Taliban are now "friendly" with the Chinese and the Americans, having meetings at the moment, what for I don't know, maybe they are planning a Billy Graham style Christian evangelical crusade throughout Afghanistan for a bit of quick Christian conversion. Australia is buying at a cost of billions, nuk subs on the never never plan from the Yanks, while relying heavily on trade with China, all this time our hospitals and schools etc are in a funding crises.

I don't care what people think of me, but I'm glad to be a NON-ALIGNED PACIFIST.