Solidarity Hall in Victorian Trades Hall – the oldest continually occupied trade union building in the world – was the venue for a public meeting of the No AUKUS Coalition Victoria. Speakers were Peter Garrett, Arthur Rorris, Dr Margie Beavis and Tony Mavromatis.

Garrett spoke first arguing the “main problem” with AUKUS and the nuclear powered submarine deal is that it reverses Australia’s post-war foreign policy and defence posture – taking it from “direct defence to forward defence”. He didn’t explain how, for example, the Afghanistan or Iraq invasions were either direct or defensive.

Throughout his talk and the discussion, Garrett was at pains to argue the Australian state should have a “robust and mutually supportive relationship with the USA”. His problem with the nuclear submarines was that it didn’t take account of the rise of rise of China. Unlike former Prime Minister Paul Keating, Garrett did not challenge the notion that China represents some sort of threat to Australia. That was not challenged by any of the speakers.

Mavromatis, Victorian State Secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), mostly concentrated on the lack of manufacturing jobs in Victoria under the deal arguing the “jobs promised won’t materialise” and demanding “bring jobs back to this country”.

He said the Albanese Labor Government should “re-think the AUKUS deal”, “sit down and talk with us”. Referring to ALP federal government, the former boiler maker complained that the “first chance they get”, “they dud us” – i.e. allow the submarine construction to happen in the U.S.A., and later in Adelaide and Perth.

Arthur Rorris, the Secretary of the South Coast Labour Council in NSW (which includes Port Kembla), said the Government had responded to the two thousand strong anti-AUKUS rally in Port Kembla on May 6 by claiming the final decision about the site of the submarine base would not be made for another ten years – a clear attempt to demobilise the growing movement in the Illawarra region.

He said the Illawara-based anti-AUKUS groups were responding by initiating an “East Coast Alliance” to run a united campaign including all the ports named as potential host locations – Port Kembla, Newcastle and Brisbane.

Rorris made a range of arguments including that the US had “for fifty years” wanted an East Coast naval base, and that the real character of any US-Australian joint instillations would be de facto US bases. He invoked the anti-war history of Illawara workers, starting from the refusal of wharfies in 1938 to load pig iron onto ships destined for imperial Japan.

Rorris emphasised that key to the local campaign was that a nuclear submarine base would involve a nuclear exclusion zone – displacing other uses at the busy port. In particular, he expects massive investment and job creation – with money already promised by the NSW state Government – for the expansion of renewable energy generation and supply. He argued the Labour Council were expecting 8,000 new local jobs on the back of renewables expansion. He compared that favourably with the rather dubious promise from the federal government of 20,000 jobs nationally, eventually through the AUKUS submarines deal.

Dr Margaret Beavis, Vice president of Medical Association for the Prevention of War outlined many of the alternative uses for $368 billion dollars. She quipped that if there is going to be 20,000 jobs “I want one of them”, given the $368 billion dollar spend. Even if all of the supposed 20,000 nuclear submarine jobs really did eventuate, and each one lasted for 20 years – each job would cost $920,000 annually. Historically military expenditure creates far fewer jobs than money spend on health, education or many other civilian uses.

Rorris was asked by an audience member how people in Melbourne can take action together with those on the East Coast? He responded that the East Coast Alliance was still in the early stages of formation. No avenue for united or coordinated national action came out of the meeting. Hopefully state based and local groups will be able to take that step in the near future.

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This article was updated on June 25 to include the last paragraph.