‘Not the deal promised’: Labor’s Ed Husic questions Aukus pact that will deliver secondhand subs

Former frontbencher launches most significant internal criticism of $368bn Aukus deal since ALP national conference in 2023 Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia needs a backup plan for the Aukus submarine agreement, Labor MP Ed Husic has warned, arguing sluggish US production and the “transactional nature” of the Trump administration have put the multibillion-dollar defence deal at risk. The defence minister, Richard Marles, this week agreed to US requests for Australia to accept three second-hand Virginia-class nuclear submarines, rather than a combination of new and old vessels. Husic spoke out during Labor caucus on Tuesday in what former Labor minister Kim Carr described as an “courageous” intervention. It was the most significant internal criticism of the $368bn deal – agreed by the Morrison government in 2021 and endorsed by the then-Labor opposition – since heated debate at the ALP national conference three years ago. Labor ultimately continued its support of the multi-decade pact. Husic said production rates of submarines in the US were too low for Australia to realistically