Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that a new submarine base will be established on Australia’s east coast to support the Royal Australian Navy’s planned nuclear powered attack submarines.
The announcement comes after the Commonwealth last year ditched a plan to acquire conventionally-powered version of the French Sufren class nuclear attack submarine, and instead buy a nuclear-powered design from the UK or US.
Speaking to the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Mr Morrison said the location of the new base had been narrowed down from 19 potential sites to a shortlisted choice of three locations – Brisbane, Newcastle, or Port Kembla near Wollongong.
The new base will not replace any existing naval basing capability. The submarines are still likely to be built and have deep maintenance conducted at Osborne in Adelaide, and will use existing submarine basing facilities at Fleet Base West near Fremantle.
“This is about additional national capacity, not relocating any existing or planned future capacity for Fleet Base West. Fleet Base West will remain home to our current and future submarines, given its strategic importance on the Indian Ocean,” a transcript of Prime Minister Morrison’s speech reads.
“The decision to establish an east coast submarine base has been many years in the making as part of our transition from Collins,” he said. “However, the Government has now determined that, to support our decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, establishing a second submarine base on our east coast will enhance our strategic deterrent capability, with significant advantages in operational, training, personnel and industrial terms.”
The release says considerations for the location of the new base include being close enough to existing infrastructure that can support the new submarines, being sufficiently close to a population centre large enough to attract and support a workforce, be close to existing training areas, deep water, and weapons storage facilities, and to provide sufficient strategic depth without being too far from potential future operational areas.
“An optimal east coast base would provide homeported submarines with specialised wharfs, maintenance facilities, administrative and logistics support, personnel amenities, and suitable accommodation for submarine crews and support staff,” the Prime Minister said. “It would also enable the regular visiting of US and UK nuclear-powered submarines.”
The new base will be the first new permanent ADF basing facilities to built since the Robertson Barracks were built south of Darwin in the early 1990s. At an estimated $10 billion, it will be the biggest infrastructure project in the Defence Integrated Investment Program (DIIP).
Initial scoping works are expected to be completed in 2023 before a final decision of the location – which will also be informed by the work underway now by the Nuclear Submarine Task Force – is made.