AUKUS: Anthony Albanese faces Labor call from within to reconsider US relationship

Anthony Albanese is facing a push from within Labor to reconsider how reliable the US is an ally and stick by a pledge he made nearly a decade ago to join a ban on nuclear weapons.

The calls from former Labor MP Melissa Parke, now head of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), come as incumbent Ed Husic reopened debate about the AUKUS pact.

Mr Husic urged the Prime Minister to give MPs a fresh vote on the $368 billion Defence agreement following revelations the Trump Administration changed its mind about the age of Virginia-class submarines the US will sell Australia, reverting to three used rather than two used and one new.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy has said the original caucus vote on AUKUS related to the fact of building nuclear-powered submarines in Australia and adding them to the navy’s equipment.

He’s also of the view that the AUKUS debate that played out at the previous Australian Labor Party conference in 20203 – after the final details of the pact were nutted out – means the matter is settled as far as the party is concerned.

Fremantle MP Josh Wilson was the only sitting member to air concerns about AUKUS publicly during that conference debate; his ability to speak out now is curtailed by conventions around solidarity for frontbenchers.

But Ms Parke – who was Mr Wilson’s predecessor in Fremantle – says there should be a fresh debate at the ALP national conference in July because the world is in a very different place to three years ago.

“Well, if Donald Trump doesn’t make us think twice about that, I don’t know what will,” she told The Nightly when asked if Australia should reconsider how integrated its military is with the US.

Mr Albanese led a successful push in 2018 for the ALP platform to include a pledge that “Labor in government” would sign Australia on to a treaty calling for a ban on nuclear weapons, going beyond the existing commitment to the non-proliferation treaty.

“Nuclear weapons are the most destructive, inhumane and indiscriminate weapons ever created. Today, we have an opportunity to take a step towards their elimination,” Mr Albanese told the national conference that year.

The commitment remains in the draft platform that will be debated by ALP members when they gather in Adelaide in July.

“It’s a good moment (to sign the ban treaty), particularly when nuclear risk is sky-high (and) we have a very volatile ally in the United States,” Ms Parke said.

She pointed to recent threats from Mr Trump to hit Iran with nuclear weapons.

“If our ally is not going to adhere to international law, and is saying that publicly, then we really need to ask ourselves how deeply we want to be embedded with that partner, and what we’re going to do to, I guess, assert our independence,” she said.

The ALP conference will be held on July 23-25.