Aukus deal is ‘living a lie’: Australia will never get nuclear submarines from US and both sides know it, Bob Carr says

Former Labor foreign affairs minister Bob Carr has dismissed the $368bn Aukus deal as a diplomatic farce, claiming the United States will never send nuclear submarines to Australia. Carr, a vocal critic of the agreement, believes American submarines will be stationed in Australian bases instead. He anticipates that a future US president will deem the transfer of three or more Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia too risky due to China's growing military power.

"It's now conventional wisdom in Washington as well as in Canberra that we're not going to get the subs," Carr stated. The former Labor minister emphasized that Australia's involvement in the deal has become a "diplomatic fig leaf or fiction" and that the government is "living a lie." The Albanese government maintains that the deal is progressing as planned, citing former US President Donald Trump's commitment to supporting Australia.

Australia has already contributed over $3bn to support US submarine manufacturing, with additional funding for infrastructure and workforce development. Despite the controversy surrounding the deal, supporters argue it represents a significant leap in Australia's military capability and creates thousands of high-skilled jobs.