Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Thorpe for her question. I'm sure, in the context of the committee debate, there can be perhaps a more detailed answer. But what I would say is this: in our commitment to AUKUS there was no deviation whatsoever from Australia's position—and, in particular, the position that the Albanese government has articulated, which is I think the same position from those opposite when they were in government—around our commitment to nuclear nonproliferation. We made very clear that how we would handle the acquisition of nuclear powered submarines would be to work very closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure we remained compliant with our obligations as a non-nuclear party under the NPT.

So what I would say to you is: we intend to apply the strictest standards. We are working very closely with Director General Grossi of the IAEA to ensure that is the case. We have no intention of establishing a domestic nuclear industry in Australia. What we do intend to do is to acquire a nuclear powered submarine capability.