AUKUS ties nuclear anchor around Australia’s neck

Three years ago, on a sunny day in mid-March, at the Point Loma US naval base in San Diego, Anthony Albanese signed what was probably the worst deal with Australia in our history.

That day, next to our aviator Prime Minister who was wearing glasses, was the British Prime Minister at the time. Rishi Altar and US President Joe Biden.

Both then left the stage. AUKUS needs this too.

Since Federal Labor tied a nuclear anchor around its neck (without independent review or consultation), the global situation has worsened and nuclear threats and risks have increased.

This was also reflected in the reflection January 2026 risk assessmentThis led to the conclusion that the Doomsday Clock was sitting at 85 seconds to midnight. This is the closest we’ve come to Armageddon in the startup’s nearly eighty-year existence; Cuban Missile Crisis and the coldest regions cold war.

Expires February 2026 NewStart arms restriction agreement The agreement between Russia and the United States, two countries that hold more than 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, means that for the first time in 50 years there are no restrictions on the number or deployment of nuclear weapons.

Multiple nuclear-weapon states are currently actively engaged in conventional wars:

Against Israel, Palestine and Iran;

USA vs Iran; And

Russia and North Korea against Ukraine.

Senior military and political figures have threatened the use of nuclear weapons in some of these conflicts.

In March, France adopts higher role on nuclear weapons in Europe and marked for the first time ‘Nuclear attack may be carried out as a warning’.

Trust in international institutions, multilateral non-proliferation instruments, and humanitarian law is low; Nuclear-weapon states increasingly view compliance with such mechanisms as optional.

Against this backdrop of a significantly increasing nuclear threat, Australia is increasingly moving towards a nuclear-focused defense posture.

AUKUS’s military pact with two nuclear-armed allied states is being rapidly developed and calls for further scrutiny and discussion.

AUKUS’s upgrades HMAS Stirling (WA) and RAAF Tindal (NT) is being fast-tracked, increasing the real potential for these facilities to provide operational support and potentially enable dual-use (conventional and nuclear) submarines and B52 bombers.

The Australian Government’s policy is to recognize the nuclear uncertainty of our AUKUS partners; In fact, we do not ask, and they do not say, whether visiting submarines, ships or aircraft carry or are capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

Senior Defense officials, including the newly appointed Australian Ambassador to the US, in Senate Estimates in December 2025 Greg MoriartyHe acknowledged that under Australian policy or treaty obligations there was “no impediment” to the visit of dual-capable platforms (an aircraft, submarine or missile designed to carry conventional weapons or nuclear weapons) and that Australia would continue to respect the US policy of neither confirming nor denying the existence of nuclear weapons.

There are also increasing calls for clarity on the role and support played by joint US-Australian military installations. Pine Gap In NT – providing support for US military operations in Iran.

These questions are fundamental to our security and sovereignty, but they are questions that the Australian Government has chosen to avoid.

Australia can and should take real steps to “lower the temperature”.

As a middle power with a bipartisan record of generally constructive engagement in international arms control and efforts to reduce weapons of mass destruction, Australia has both the ability and the responsibility to take clear steps to reduce nuclear threats.

Meaningful steps along this path include:

We expressly pledge that we will not acquire nuclear weapons of our own or use the nuclear weapons of our allies on Australian soil, seas or skies.

Australia marks the birth of civil society UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Labor in 2018 national platform committed to this action. It is time to advance this critical AUKUS guardrail.

Conduct a public or open parliamentary inquiry into AUKUS regulation, including its risks, costs and alternatives.

(A part of the Australian Peace and Security Forum queryIn the absence of any action in Parliament, this initiative deserves support.)

Stopping the supply of uranium from Australia to nuclear-weapon states with which we have bilateral sales agreements and which do not fulfill their international disarmament obligations. This includes France, UK, US, China and India; Note that there is a precedent in Russia, with the Abbott Government suspending uranium sales in September 2014 in response to the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17.

It outlines the rules of engagement and checks and balances regarding the provision of targeting and military operational data from Australian partner facilities.

Applying diplomatic pressure on nuclear-weapon states to fulfill their disarmament obligations UNNPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons). Review conference held in New York from April 27 to May 22, 2026. Minister of Foreign Affairs in December 2025 Penny Wong He defined NPT as follows: ‘The cornerstone of disarmament and non-proliferation’. It’s time to show it off.

To strengthen, support and demonstrate compliance with international humanitarian law and rights-based standards and norms.

in the background ADF personnel were deployed on US submarines that sank Iranian ships In international waters, with the unexpected military use of US air force bases in Western Australia, the deployment of executive power and weapons in the Gulf region, and Trump’s increasing tractor beam towards unbridled and unlawful wars, Australia and Australians should use this third anniversary as a time to review, reflect and recalibrate what we stand for and what we oppose. And on whose terms and in whose interests.

Dave Sweeney Australian Conservation Foundation was a nuclear-weapon-free campaigner and founding member ICAN. You can follow him on Twitter @nukedavesweeney.

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