Scott Morrison put national security at risk former PM Turnbull says
Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has claimed Prime Minister Scott Morrison put Australiaâs national security at risk in the way he has handled the decision to dump a $90 billion submarine contract with France and instead build a nuclear-propelled fleet with the United States and Britain.
Mr Turnbull also revealed that he has spoken to Emmanuel Macron since the shock announcement two weeks ago, despite Mr Morrison being unable to get the French President on the phone.
Malcolm Turnbull, pictured visiting the Naval Group shipyard in France, says Scott Morrison has put Australiaâs national security at risk.Credit:Kym Smith
He also refused to confirm whether he would vote for the Liberal Party at the next election and if he would campaign for independent candidates against sitting Liberal members, saying he would âreserve my rightsâ but was unlikely to get involved in electoral politics.
The comments angered some Liberal MPs who believed the former prime minister should be using his position to advance the nationâs interests on the international stage and be backing the party at the ballot box.
Mr Morrison enraged the French government by deciding to dump the French deal two weeks ago and instead use American and British technology to develop a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines as part of a new defence pact named AUKUS.
After Mr Turnbull delivered a speech at the National Press Club in which he said the government should have explored the possibility of building a nuclear-powered fleet using low-enriched uranium with France, he accused his successor of âextraordinary subterfuge and deceitâ that would have a âreal impact on Australiaâ.
Mr Turnbull said one of Australiaâs national security assets was âtrustworthinessâ and Mr Morrisonâs âacolytes and admirersâ were bragging about his âclever sneakinessâ.
âThis is an appalling episode in Australiaâs international affairs and the consequences of it will endure to our disadvantage for a very long time,â he said.
âI am not getting any lectures on patriotism from Scott Morrison ... I defended the national security of this country and its national interest and I know the way that he has behaved is putting that at risk.â
Mr Turnbull confirmed he had spoken to Mr Macron since the submarines announcement, saying he was a âfriend, and I have stayed in touch with him since I left officeâ.
âHe is one of the great leaders of our times â" enormously important figure in global politics, and of course particularly in Europe,â he said. âI am not going to quote him, but what youâve heard from the French government â" those are views held right across the board.â
The former prime minister said Mr Morrison âboth by his own character, is not inclined to apologise or admit fault or flawâ.
âThe fact that there was no discussion [with the French], and this extraordinary subterfuge and deceit, that was practised, it has left us with so many unresolved questions,â he said.
âAnd anyone who questions it, such as those unfortunate members of the Labor Party who question it, are essentially accused of being unpatriotic.â
Mr Turnbull didnât rule out not voting for the Liberal Party at the next federal election, saying âit has been a long habit but it is also a secret ballot. That will be a matter between me and the ballot boxâ.
Liberal senator Eric Abetz said Mr Turnbull âwould never have had the privilege of being prime minister but for the Liberal Party and it is disappointing he is not willing to support his own Liberal memberâ.
âHaving been the architect of the French submarine deal with Christopher Pyne, it is understandable that Malcolm Turnbull is disappointed with the governmentâs decision, but there were some of us who were of the view that the deal should have never been done in the first place,â Senator Abetz said.
âScott Morrison and [Defence Minister] Peter Dutton have made the right call in all the circumstances.
âIt cannot be easy to see your decision-making be repudiated and replaced, and that is a normal human reaction, but at the end of the day this is not about an individualâs sensitivities; it is about national security being paramount and thatâs what Morrison and Dutton have rightly focused on.â
Marcus Hellyer, a senior analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said Mr Turnbull was correct in saying that Australiaâs proposed fleet of nuclear-powered submarines would need some kind of nuclear industry to support it.
âWe may not need civil nuclear power plants, or facilities that can enrich uranium to fuel the submarineâs reactor, but weâll still need to perform maintenance and repairs on the submarines, including the reactor,â Dr Hellyer said in an opinion piece for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
âYou canât have an effective military capability if you need to return it to the US any time there is a defect.â
In his first public comments about the submarine deal cancellation, Mr Macron said Europeans must stop being so ânaiveâ and stand on their own two feet in the Pacific.
âWe should not give in to escalation, itâs simply about having ourselves respected,â he said.
âThe Australian decision does not change Franceâs Indo-Pacific strategy.â
France took the extraordinary step of recalling its ambassadors from Australia and the US, with its top diplomat in Canberra, Jean-Pierre Thebault, accusing Australia of âlies and treasonâ hours before boarding a flight to Paris.
Mr Macron also confirmed the French ambassador to the United States would return to his posting in Washington on Wednesday, but he did not say when Mr Thebault would return to Canberra.
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Anthony Galloway is foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via Twitter or email.
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