What is AUKUS, and why is everybody talking about it?

In one of her first announcements since taking public office, newly elected Bradfield MP Nicolette Boele has reiterated her call for a full parliamentary inquiry into the AUKUS defence deal.

So why is this defence deal, first announced in 2021, back in the news again? 

Boele certainly isn’t alone in calling for scrutiny of the deal. Just this Wednesday, it was announced the Pentagon, in the US, had launched a review into the security pact.

🤝 What is AUKUS?

The AUKUS deal, first announced in 2021, is a strategic defence partnership meant to:

• Help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines

• Strengthen military ties between Australia, the US and the UK

• Counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific

Nuclear-powered subs are prized for their ability to stay underwater longer, move faster, and operate more stealthily than conventional diesel-electric ones.

💸 The $368 billion elephant in the room

AUKUS is Australia’s most expensive defence commitment ever — with a projected cost of over $368 billion. So far, Australia has only spent $500 million — that’s about 1/720th of the total. Critics within the defence community argue that money could be better spent on drones, missiles and northern bases. 

But Labor and the Coalition remain committed to the deal.

❓ Why is it back in the news

In Australia, AUKUS has been a near-constant talking point since 2021. But in the US? It’s barely rated a mention — until now. It’s understood that Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has launched a formal review of the deal.

🇬🇧 The UK already did a review — now the US is joining in

Last year, British PM Keir Starmer ordered a review of AUKUS after taking office. Now the US appears to be doing the same.

And given recent tensions — from Trump-era tariffs to questions over America’s reliability — the move has sparked renewed anxiety over whether the US can be trusted as a defence partner.

🕊️ No more Bush-era bromances

In the early 2000s, John Howard was riding horses at the Bush family ranch. These days, Albanese isn’t exactly dropping into Mar-a-Lago to hang out with Donald at the omelette station. That context matters. There’s a growing sense that America isn’t treating Australia like the trusted ally it once did.

🧾 What’s the Albanese government saying?

Defence Minister Richard Marles insists everything is fine.

He says Labor conducted its own AUKUS review after coming to power, and the US audit is no cause for alarm.

But the US appears to want more. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has called on Australia to lift defence spending from 2.4% to 3.5% of GDP — roughly an extra $40 billion a year.

🧨 Keating says the review might “save Australia from itself”

Former Prime Minister Paul Keating — a vocal critic of AUKUS — has welcomed the US review, suggesting it could “save Australia from itself”.

“AUKUS will be shown for [what] it always has been: a deal hurriedly scribbled on the back of an envelope by Scott Morrison, along with the vacuous British blowhard Boris Johnson and the confused president, Joe Biden.”

Keating has long argued that the submarine deal is wasteful and dangerous, dragging Australia deeper into American military entanglements.

🗣️ Meanwhile, the Coalition takes a shot

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley told Sky News she’s “concerned” Albanese was unprepared for the US review.

The Coalition is now calling for the PM to meet with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7. 

If that meeting does happen, Albanese will have a long to-do list: AUKUS, Tariffs, and a Channel Nine journo shot with a rubber bullet in LA.

This article has been partially syndicated from The National Account, with additional reporting.