Email,
Last week, a US nuclear submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian navy vessel in the Indian Ocean, leaving the sailors to drown. Three Australians were onboard the submarine when it attacked.
They were there because of AUKUS — the $368 billion military pact that ties Australia to America's wars, signed in secret by Scott Morrison and rubber-stamped by Labor.
Then at 2am on Tuesday, Prime Minister Albanese took a phone call from Donald Trump. And now, we're sending an Australian spy plane and missiles to the Gulf, pulling us deeper into an illegal war we had no say in starting.
This is exactly what critics of AUKUS warned about. This dangerous deal has stripped away Australia's ability to make its own decisions about when and where we go to war.
But it doesn't have to be this way – and we need to change course now. Already, 42,979 people have signed our petition calling on the government to review and walk away from AUKUS. Can you add your name today to help us reach 50,000 this week?
AUKUS is a secretive defence agreement first signed by Scott Morrison in 2021 with the US and UK without any public debate or scrutiny. It commits Australia for decades to fund and buy American nuclear-powered submarines, share military technology, and become even more tightly enmeshed in US military operations around the world. Since coming to power, Albanese and Labor have continued to push ahead – despite reviews into AUKUS in both the US and UK.
We've committed $368 billion to this deal. Meanwhile, emergency departments are overflowing, young people can't afford a home, and aged care workers are underpaid – all because we're told we don't have the money.
Critics warned from the start that AUKUS would pull Australia into American wars. That warning isn't hypothetical anymore. On 4 March, the USS Charlotte – a nuclear-powered attack submarine with three Australian crew members on board – fired two torpedoes at the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean, sinking it. It was the first time a nuclear submarine had sunk an enemy vessel in decades.
The PM says our sailors were there for "training" and didn't participate in the attack. But what kind of training puts Australian personnel on a foreign warship during active combat operations – and in a war started by Trump and Netanyahu without a UN mandate? And who approved it? Not Parliament. Not the Australian public.
This isn't about the despicable Iranian regime – and it's not even about Iran. It's about the dangers of handing over our national security wholesale to the US, not least while it spirals further and further towards authoritarianism.
Other countries are choosing a different path. Canada has made it clear it's not interested in joining AUKUS. Spain has refused to let the US use its military bases for operations against Iran, calling the war a violation of international law. But Australia – locked into AUKUS – is being pulled along by Trump and Washington, unable to offer any resistance.
Tens of thousands of people have already signed the petition to walk away from AUKUS. We need your name too – will you add it today?Thanks,
Paul for the GetUp team
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GetUp is an independent, not-for-profit community campaigning group. We use technology to empower Australians to have their say on important national issues. We receive no political party or government funding, and every campaign we run is entirely supported by voluntary donations. If you'd like to contribute to help fund GetUp's work, donate now! We collect, store and use personal information and other data as set out in our Privacy Policy. If you do not wish to receive updates to emailnew...@googlegroups.com from us, please unsubscribe.
Our team acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we meet and work. We wish to pay respect to Elders - past, present and emerging - and acknowledge the important role all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within Australia and the GetUp community.
Authorised by D. Loasby, GetUp, 285A Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010.
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