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Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has dismissed concerns AUKUS will undermine Australian sovereignty.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

In a speech to parliament on Thursday,Marles will strongly defend AUKUS in a bid to soothe any lingering concerns about the pact within the Labor base ahead of a major announcement in March about the type of nuclear-powered submarine technology Australia will acquire.

Preparation is under way for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to travel to Washington for a possible joint press conference with US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak,with expectation building that Australia will adopt a joint next-generation submarine model combining American and British technology.

“Some argue that Australia’s reliance on our partners for the acquisition of naval nuclear-propulsion technology gives rise to a dependence that undermines Australia’s sovereignty,” Marles will tell parliament,according to draft speech notes.

“Yet the reality is that almost all of Australia’s high-end capability is developed in cooperation with our partners. Submarines are no exception. And that dramatically enhanced capability dramatically enhances our sovereignty.”

Marles will say that leveraging expertise from the United States and United Kingdom will help Australia ensure it can respond to strategic threats in the region.

When the Morrison government announced AUKUS in September 2021,Keating said the partnership would produce “a further dramatic loss of Australian sovereignty,as material dependency on the US robbed Australia of any freedom or choice in any engagement Australia may deem appropriate”.

“Australia has had great difficulty in running a bunch of Australian-built conventional submarines – imagine the difficulty of moving to sophisticated nuclear submarines,their maintenance and operational complexity,” he said.

The Labor legend has continued his criticism of AUKUS,saying in a speech last year that it would be a “tragedy for Australia” if Labor followed through with the deal.

Earlier this month Turnbull,who oversaw the ditched submarine deal with French company Naval Group,said Australia was “completely overlooking” the fact that nuclear-powered submarines “will not be able to be operated or maintained without the supervision of the US Navy”.

“It is surely remarkable that this abdication of Australian sovereignty was effected by the Morrison government and now,apparently,endorsed and adopted by the Albanese government,” he wrote on Twitter.

“AUKUS is a worthwhile and natural enhancement of already intimate security and intelligence relationships,but the submarine element of the agreement delays vital capabilities and diminishes Australian sovereignty.”

Earlier this week Australian Shipbuilding Federation of Unions national convener Glenn Thompson urged the government todevelop a back-up plan in case AUKUS falls over and said he was worried it would not deliver the promised boon for local manufacturing.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weeklyInside Politics newsletter here.

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