For people who arent familiar with Oz politics I'II fill in the blanks a bit to compensate for the selective partisan filter here.
France was pissed of with Australia because they took a perfectly legal exit on a contract for submarines. This kind of staged contract is normal for large military tenders as once committed you are locked into an effective monopoly. So with each stage there is typically an exit path to keep pressure on the vendor who would otherwise have no incentive to perform.
After many delays and cost overruns, Australia took a completely legal exit on the French contract and took up another commitment for UK/US nuclear submarine tech. This was a vastly superior option and pretty much everyone agreed it was the right decision.
This is particularly the case, as the strategic situation in the Pacific is radically different to when the French sub contract was taken. As you would expect Australia played its cards close to its chest before informing the French they wanted an exit.
This is perfectly normal approach as anyone would do in a similar situation whether they were buying a car or a Boeing 747, let alone something with massive geo-political consequences like a defence contract.
Scott Morrison was accused of being a liar by the French who pretended they weren't aware the sub contract was at risk.
A text message was leaked that showed, in fact, the French were aware and Macron had lied.
A lot of people have been suggesting Macron was simply playing up to nationalist sentiment in an election year (same for the current French/UK fishing disputes etc).
Scott Morrison was also called a liar by the previous unsuccessful Australian Prime minister, Malcom Turnbull, who he replaced. Malcolm is well-known as someone with an axe to grind and a massive chip on his shoulder.
Malcolm himself has been called out for lying in his recent autobiography.
He was also recently called a liar by Ben Fordham, a journalist, details are here:-
Australian exports to the European union will suffer. There will be no nuclear subs here for decades, if ever. We'll be given second hand dross before the new subs arrives., and it bears mentioning the French subs were nuclear, and retrofitted with diesel to meet this contract.
The French subs need recharging. The US and UK offer are single charge for life.
It's a five eyes con. We pissed off the Japanese to take the French deal and pissed off the French to take the US/British deal. This is childishly stupid politics about arms for 2030 or 2040.
Morrison won't be in power in two terms more. Normally Australian defence is bilateral. The libs under Abbot tore bilateralism apart.
I trust Macron less than I trust Merkel but more than I trust Johnson or Morrison.
France is muscling up. Look how they told the UK to fuck off over the cross channel policing meeting. Macron isn't taking any shit from anyone, he's occupying the power vacuum Merkel is leaving behind.
Stupid politics for an economically weak nation like Oz. We will gain little for this posture. Strike an own goal time. (Just like the TPP is better without Yankee distortions, and I have little doubt Morrison will usher the Americans back in, to our trade detriment. Every us au trade deal has materially disadvantaged Australian businesses)
The problem wasn't that the deal was cancelled, it was that the French were blindsided and didn't know. The text message leaked by Morrison (unprecedented bullshit!), shows that the French knew of issues (which they did of course, nobody is denying this), but the day before the public announcement of Aukus were asking for news, meaning they didn't know the contract will be cancelled. Morrison is so stupid he leaked a text message litteraly proving he lied.
Furthermore, nobody can really say if the choice was better. Theyd be comparing a programme in advanced design stage vs a purely theoretical "we'll buy subs based on US or UK design with US nuclear reactors". There's no design, no costs. If in 2050 Australia still has no nuclear subs which isn't impossible (they hve no nuclear infrastructure), it would have been the wrong choice.
I think few in Australia would disagree that Scott Morrison is a liar. That was the first thing I really noticed about him even before he was PM, it's nice that the French contract is finally bringing it to the fore.
It's insane. The Crikey guys came to the same conclusion I had - he doesn't just use big, strategic lies for political advantage - he lies about the small things when it's not even necessary, and they come back to bite him.
I actually, seriously and honestly think he might have an actual personality disorder (like NPD or something). It's not normal, even for a politician...
