AUKUS: WA Henderson defence boundaries not drawn ahead of proposed deployment of US nuclear submarines

Proposed boundaries for a massive new Defence site at Henderson to support AUKUS have not been finalised despite the expected deployment of US nuclear submarines to Western Australia in two years.

Confirmation that no final Commonwealth decision has been made on the “defence precinct definition” come just after the Albanese Government unveiled a $12 billion “downpayment” for the crucial shipbuilding and maintenance facility.

In a formal response to State Parliament, the Western Australian government last week revealed it had also not been briefed on potential local environmental impacts because crucial decisions were outstanding.

“On 16 October 2024 the Western Australia Government signed the Cooperation Agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of Western Australia to deliver and sustain Australia’s future Defence capabilities,” the WA government said.

“Given no decision has been made by the Australian Government about the defence precinct definition, no briefings have occurred on potential impacts,” the government revealed in written answers to questions from the WA Greens.

The Greens have described the revelations as “scandalous” and accused the Albanese government of conducting a $12 billion PR stunt to appease President Donald Trump ahead of an expected meeting with the Prime Minister in the US.

“There is a pattern here with AUKUS projects where billions are being spent on the basis of vague promises and half-cooked plans,” Greens Senator David Shoebridge told The West Australian.

“It’s genuinely scandalous that the Albanese Labor Government has put $12 billion of public money into this project before they have even worked out the real estate deal with the WA Government.”

The Prime Minister is this week in the United States to attend a meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York where he has hopes of discussing AUKUS in a face-to-face catch up with President Trump.

“The more we put this so-called plan under the microscope the more it looks like a $12 billion PR stunt for Albanese’s meeting with Trump rather than a serious plan for the defence of Australia,” Senator Shoebridge said.

“No other part of government would be green-lighted to spend such a vast amount of money with such amateur planning and preparation.”

Security scholar Doctor Elizabeth Buchanan, a senior fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, says the slow pace of planning around the Henderson precinct is concerning and warns large funding announcements won’t necessarily fix the problem.

“Any strategic planning starts with definitions and boundaries — we have murky definitions and unclear boundaries,” Dr Buchanan said.

“Henderson is too small, already overcrowded with existing shipbuilding commitments, so a Henderson North and Henderson South-type approach might be announced next.

“Australia’s nuclear-submarine enterprise simply needs more space. Arriving at this realisation quite late in the game is not really a problem X-billions of dollars can wave off.”

During a visit to Henderson earlier this month, the Albanese government revealed the new expanded defence precinct could eventually be used as a “deep maintenance” facility for US nuclear submarines.

While detailing the $12 billion spend, Defence Minister Richard Marles insisted the US would choose where to maintain its Virginia-class submarines “but we absolutely anticipate that this will be a facility which is available for them.”

Last week community members living close to the future Henderson Defence Precinct and HMAS Stirling naval base (where AUKUS boats will operate from 2027), gathered in Fremantle to hear from Australian Submarine Agency representatives.

WA Greens MLC Sophie McNeill who attended the meeting says revelations that the State Government has not yet been consulted about precisely what the Henderson precinct will be used for is “deeply embarrassing.”

“While the PM and Defence Minister have been flogging off parts of our WA coast to the US military, WA Labor have been left completely in the dark,” she said.

“Turning our beautiful Cockburn Sound foreshore into a US nuclear submarine maintenance hub — of which currently only four others exist in the world— is a massive shift from what our community was originally told about AUKUS.

“This has been on the cards for 12 months and Federal Labor hasn’t even offered their WA counterparts a briefing. If the Premier’s in the dark, imagine how local residents around Henderson feel.”

A WA Government spokesperson said it “strongly supports the Commonwealth Government’s $12 billion commitment to consolidate and develop the Henderson Defence Precinct, which will support 10,000 jobs here in Western Australia”.

“The State Government has and will continue to engage in good faith negotiations necessary to support the delivery and sustainment of defence capabilities critical to diversifying and strengthening WA’s economy.”

A spokesperson for Mr Marles added, “for too long, the shipbuilding industry in Western Australia has lacked the consistent work needed to develop a competitive and reliability shipbuilding capability.”

In a statement Defence said it was “progressing the detailed design and planning of the Defence Precinct of Henderson” and that the early commitment of funding “will provide certainty to industry” while “minimising impacts to existing services and businesses in the region.”

“Collaboration with the Western Australian Government is critical. Defence and the Australian Submarine Agency are in regular discussions with the Western Australian Government through a range of forums, and this will only increase as the design and planning phase progresses.”