00:00This is a pretty critical step and a key moment in our quest towards getting these nuclear-powered
00:08submarines that we've agreed to get under this massive $386 billion AUKUS submarine
00:16deal.
00:17Essentially, this revamped agreement is an agreement between the AUKUS partners, the
00:21UK, Australia and the US to facilitate the transfer of naval nuclear materials to Australia.
00:32There have been some concerns from some green groups about this revamped agreement, particularly
00:39about the undisclosed political commitments that could be a part of this revamped agreement.
00:46This morning, Defence Minister Richard Marles has been really quick to bat away any concerns
00:51about Australia becoming a dumping ground for nuclear waste.
00:56He says this revamped agreement is a foundational document, it is a really critical document
01:04for us to actually reach the point where we have these nuclear-powered submarines in the
01:09country and when it comes to whether or not we will be a nuclear dumping ground as a result
01:15of this revamped agreement.
01:17He's had this to say this morning.
01:19There's no other things that people will seek to spread misinformation about in terms of
01:25what this may or may not be about.
01:27What this is, is the legal underpinning of what we have already agreed and in terms of
01:33that nuclear waste issue that you raised at the start, that is an utter therapy.
01:38That is not what is going on here.
01:40We are responsible for our nuclear waste and we made that clear in March of last year and
01:45there's a process underway in respect of that and to remind you that the first moment
01:49in which we will need to be disposing of our own nuclear reactors will be in the 2050s,
01:54so we have time to get that right.
01:57So Oliver, tell us about this renewed criticism of the AUKUS deal by a former Prime Minister.
02:03Former Prime Minister Paul Keating has been a critic of the AUKUS agreement for some time
02:09now.
02:10He attended the 7.30 program last night and renewed that criticism.
02:15Previously he's called the AUKUS agreement the worst deal in history.
02:20He focused in on other parts of our agreement with the US, particularly the fact that we'll
02:26now be seeing more US troops cycling through Australia.
02:32He thinks this sends the wrong message to our region.
02:35He's renewed his criticism of the Albanese government's choice to be part of this US
02:42alliance and have us so closely aligned to the US.
02:47He had some pretty pointed comments on the 7.30 program.
02:51Here's what former Prime Minister Paul Keating had to say.
02:56The Albanese government in their policy is likely to turn Australia into the 51st state
03:05of the United States.
03:07We're now defending the fact that we're in AUKUS.
03:10If we weren't in AUKUS, we wouldn't need to defend it.
03:13Let me amplify the point.
03:14That is, if we didn't have an aggressive ally like the United States, aggressive to others
03:21in the region, there'd be nobody attacking Australia.
03:26Former Prime Minister Paul Keating there criticising the AUKUS agreement once again.
03:31We have heard the Defence Minister Richard Myles again this morning.
03:35He wasn't directly responding to Paul Keating's comments, but just reaffirming Australia's
03:40commitment to that alliance with the US.
03:44He says the reason we're in this US alliance is because we've done a pretty comprehensive
03:49look at our strategic position and that is the decision that the Albanese government
03:55has made that keeping close ties with the US is the best thing for our country.
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