That was a good article on the Subs:

https://johnmenadue.com/precis/



John Menadue

John Menadue has had a senior professional career in the media, public service and airlines.

He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1985 for public service. In 1997, he received the Japanese Imperial Award, The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Kun-itto Zuiho-sho), the highest honour awarded to foreigners who are not head of state or head of government. The award was for services to the Australia-Japan relationship, particularly the establishment of the working holiday program between the two countries. In 2003, John was awarded the Centenary Medal ‘for service to Australian society through public service leadership’.

In 2009, John received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Adelaide in recognition of his significant and lifelong contribution to Australian society as a Public Servant, Diplomat, Critical Thinker, Board Director, Advisor and Public Commentator.

John Menadue was born in South Australia in 1935. He graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1956 as a Bachelor of Economics.

From 1960 to 1967 he was Private Secretary to Gough Whitlam, Leader of the Opposition. He then moved into the private sector for seven years as General Manager, News Limited, Sydney, publisher of ‘The Australian’.

John Menadue was head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet from 1974 to 1976 and closely involved in the dismissal events of November 11, 1975. He worked for Prime Ministers Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser.

From 1977-1980 he was Australian Ambassador to Japan.

Jasin wrote on Mar 3^rd, 2024 at 1:53pm:



Read replies #  72,73,74 on the previous page.

The whole subs idea is ridiculous.

It's certainly above Brian's head.

So - the Govt. is $1.2 trillion in debt
https://australiandebtclock.com.au/
but they have plenty of money
for submarines and all the other goodies?  WTF?


https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-17/richard-marles-unveils-50b-defence-spendi...

17 April 2024.




    In short: Defence Minister Richard Marles has announced the government will spend an extra $50 billion on defence over the next decade and will also re-prioritise $72.8 billion in planned spending.
    Mr Marles confirmed the focus was on a "more amphibious" defence force with a local focus, as flagged in last year's Defence Strategic Review.
    What's next? Further details of the government's defence decisions will be revealed in the May budget.

Australia's projected defence spending will increase by another $50 billion over the next decade, with the government unveiling an immediate boost of more than $1 billion to accelerate long-range missiles and targeting systems, as well as lethal autonomous systems.

Defence Minister Richard Marles has released Labor's long-awaited National Defence Strategy, which aims to put Australia's total defence spending at 2.4 per cent of GDP within 10 years.

Total government defence investment in the military is expected to reach $330 billion through to 2033-34, which includes initial costs for the massive AUKUS initiative to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

An overhaul of Defence's integrated investment program will see up to $76 billion spent on "undersea warfare" and other large investments in space and cyber.

"The inaugural National Defence Strategy sets out a clear and priority-driven approach to protecting against threats to Australia and our interests," Mr Marles has told the National Press Club.

"The National Defence Strategy outlines how we are transforming the ADF and equipping it to survive in a much less certain world."

"These transformational reforms are designed to ensure that peace, security, and prosperity are maintained in our region".

JaSin,
Quote:


yes - we'll get only 8 subs for $368 billion whereas
the Yanks would pay about $32 billion for 8 of them.
So we end up paying about 10 times as much.

Brian and both main political parties say that's a good deal.    tsk tsk tsk           

Jasin wrote on Apr 17^th, 2024 at 6:44pm:



There is something wrong with Brian's brain -

his BA degree , his masters degree and his doctor of divinity degree have not helped him.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/defence-cuts-expected-under-plan-to-mod...






Story by Tess Ikonomou and Andrew Brown


Defence will get an extra $50 billion over the next decade as part of a shake-up of the Australian military, as plans to acquire F-35 fighter jets have been put on ice.

Unveiling a national defence strategy and $330 billion investment program in a major speech on Wednesday, Defence Minister Richard Marles revealed an additional $5.7 billion would be spent over the next four years.

He outlined an increase on spending on ships and ship building as part of what he said was the largest growth in military spending since 1949.


The government will make cuts to other defence programs under a $22.5 billion "reprioritisation" over the next four years to help pay for drones and long-range strike missiles.

This is set to include a $3 billion cost saving by delaying the possible acquisition of a fourth squadron of F-35 aircraft under the Joint Strike Fighter program.

The rise of China and its growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region along with other threats had created the most challenging strategic environment since World War II, Mr Marles said.

A further $1 billion will be spent over the next four years on long-range strike, targeting and autonomous systems.

Jasin wrote on Apr 17^th, 2024 at 7:40pm:



But we pay 10 times the actual price to give the Yanks our money.

Jasin wrote on Apr 17^th, 2024 at 8:02pm:



We pay inflated prices but we get a nuclear umbrella -
that would cost $1 trillion if we did it ourselves.

We also get protection - a bit like mafia protection.
Without the Yanks in WW2 we wouldn't even be here.
Our soldiers were training with broomsticks because there were no guns.
We're hopeless.