It’s a $368B project getting deserved criticism, with a new negative angle hitting the press almost daily. But in the interests of balanced reporting, Rex Patrick brings us a little bit of good AUKUS news.
It’s only been a week since MWM gave readers an update on the current status of AUKUS.
Since that time we’ve seen some further damning headlines out of the US – “The Navy’s Virginia-Class Submarine Debacle”, “The Virginia-class Submarines Struggle Under a 139 Percent Cost Increase” and a concerning article on “Why Is the Virginia-Class So Behind?”
And there’s been bad news in Australia too. There was the story of the Australian Submarine Agency scoring second worst for staff wellbeing in the annual public service census working alongside highly paid consultants, calls for a change of plan by a former submarine admiral, and news of a review of the project by former Defence Secretary Dennis Richardson.
Watching AUKUS unfold is a lot like watching a slow-motion shipwreck. But doomscrolling can sometimes be too much. So, here at MWM we’ve been on the watch for a good story; something to make everyone feel a bit better. It’s taken a while, but we found one.
On Time Delivery
When the Prime Minister went to San Diego in March 2023 to commit in full to AUKUS, President Biden presented him with a Shinola wristwatch in a custom wooden box. It’s a nice watch, American made.
Now, MWM want to be really clear in saying that Anthony Albanese declared the watch as a gift and he’s done everything right in respect to the official ‘Guidelines relating to official gifts received’ that apply to him and his ministers.
The AUKUS Watch (poor photo quality courtesy of PM&C)
Under the gifts received policy, ministers are allowed to keep a gift from a foreign government whose wholesale value is less than $750. If it’s more than that it can also be kept if the minister pays the difference between the $750 and the value of the gift (plus GST).
Records show that Albanese rarely keeps gifts from foreign governments. He normally surrenders them to his department. But in this case, he obviously took a shine to the presidential watch and elected to keep it.
Its wholesale value was estimated at $1,122.88 (of course, President Biden gifting the watch probably makes its resale value somewhat higher). In accordance with the rules Albanese duly paid $410.17 to consolidated revenue, which included some GST.
Payment for the AUKUS Watch (Source: FOI)
MWM is not trying to make a big deal of the gift. Good on Albanese – he’s got himself an AUKUS watch (and care of Scomo whose deal it was originally). But it is worthy of mention in this project already mired by schedule blowouts and cost blowouts.
The watch is the first AUKUS deliverable and it’s an on-time delivery. And in contrast to the submarines, at least this bit of American technology was free.
But then again, there’s no such thing as a free watch.
Rex Patrick is a former Senator for South Australia and earlier a submariner in the armed forces. Best known as an anti-corruption and transparency crusader, Rex is running for the Senate on the Lambie Network ticket next year - www.transparencywarrior.com.au.