Navy to get new submarine fleet

A bit surprising from a centre-Left government. Perhaps they are as conservative as they say they are. Or is this just a pork-barrel project for the faltering South Australia economy? I can see another economic disaster unfolding however. It doesn't look likely but pray to all your gods that Australia buys something off the shelf this time. Buying unproven designs has never worked well: behind time, over budget and lacking capabilities has been the routine result in the past

AUSTRALIA will build the world's most lethal conventional submarine fleet, capable of carrying long-range cruise missiles and futuristic midget-subs, to combat an expected arms race in the region. Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has ordered planning to begin on the next generation of submarines to replace the Royal Australian Navy's Collins-class fleet [which they have just recently finally got working!] with the aim of gaining "first pass" approval for the design phase from cabinet's National Security Committee in 2011.

The 17-year project will be the largest, longest and most expensive defence acquisition since Federation, potentially costing up to $25 billion. It comes at a time when regional navies such as Indonesia's, China's and India's are seeking to dramatically expand their submarine fleets, potentially altering the balance of naval power in the region. "There is widespread agreement that submarines provide a vital military capability for Australia," Mr Fitzgibbon said. "The development of new submarines requires long-term planning and needs to progress quickly, and that's what I have asked for."

Defence planners have examined two key studies this year, one by independent think tank the Kokoda Foundation, which have concluded that strategic shifts in the region will make submarines a more important to Australia's defence than ever before. Defence will study a wide range of futuristic options for the new submarines, which will be built in Adelaide and will replace the six Collins-class submarines when they are retired in 2025. The new submarines will almost certainly be built by the builder of the Collins-class fleet, the Australian Submarine Corporation, once the government-owned ASC has been privatised. "South Australia is the only credible location for the construction of Australia's next generation of submarine," Mr Fitzgibbon said.

The aim will be to create the world's most deadly conventional submarine fleet to allow Australia to maintain its strategic advantage over fast-growing rival navies in the region. Although Defence has not yet ruled out the possibility of Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines, this option is considered highly unlikely on strategic, practical and political grounds. Instead, defence planners will focus on producing a larger, quieter, faster and more deadly version of the existing six Collins-class submarines, which, after a troubled birth in the 1990s, have proved to be one of the country's most important defence assets.

It is not known how many of the new submarines will be built. Defence has confirmed that one of the options to be considered for the new submarine fleet will be small unmanned mini-subs that can be launched from the "mother" submarines. "Technological developments such as unmanned vehicles would probably offer complementary capabilities to any future underwater warfare platform," a Defence spokesman said. These unmanned mini-submarines, crammed with high-tech sensors, could travel remotely tens of kilometres away from the mother vessel to conduct surveillance, detect enemy submarines or carry an SAS team.

Another priority for the new submarines will be the new generation air-independent propulsion systems, which allow conventional submarines to stay underwater for longer periods, greatly increasing operational effectiveness. Defence said the new post-Collins submarines will have more flexible designs, allowing them to be quickly reconfigured for different types of missions, from intelligence gathering to strategic strikes. The new submarines will be able to carry a greater variety of long-range weapons, possibly including long-range cruise missiles as well as short-range tactical land-strike missiles. They will also be configured to facilitate the secret transporting of SAS squads into regional hot spots.

In a study earlier this year, the Kokoda Foundation estimated that building, arming and supporting a new, fully modernised submarine fleet could cost between $20 billion and $25 billion, making it the largest defence project in Australia, dwarfing even the $15 billion Joint Strike Fighter project. The Government hopes to complete its initial research into the options for the new submarines by 2011, when cabinet will give "first pass" consideration to the plan. In 2014-15, the Government is due to give "second pass" consideration to the project, resulting in contracts and the eventual construction of the submarines, with sea trials tentatively scheduled for 2024. The submarine-replacement project will be included in the next Defence Capability Plan.

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Go Queensland!

I have opened several bottles of champagne recently so I have done my bit towards emitting lots of CO2!

QUEENSLANDERS are the highest producers of greenhouse gas in the world, emitting 38.9 tonnes per person every year - nearly eleven tonnes more than the Australian average, a first-ever audit has found. The audit, undertaken by the Wet Tropics Management Authority between Cooktown and Cardwell, offers stark warning about the threats of climate change.

Scientists have warned the Great Barrier Reef may be dead within 20 years [And pigs might fly] and one of the world's most ancient rainforests in the Daintree faces extinction under just a few degrees of global warming. [Warmth and CO2 is GOOD for trees!]

The audit, based on 2005 figures showed far North Queensland - with its vast tracts of forest and little large scale industrial activity - fared relatively well per capita with 23.6 tonnes compared to Australia (28.2 tonnes) and the rest of the state (38.9 tonnes). It found transport; stationary energy; land use change; and agriculture were responsible for 96 per cent of the region's emissions. Carbon dioxide is responsible for 74 per cent of the region's emissions, followed by methane (17 per cent) and nitrous oxide (8 per cent). Other areas such as Gladstone, with energy intensive industry such as aluminium and steel smelting and coal-burning electricity generators, were cited as a likely hot spot of greenhouse gas emissions.

Tourism and Industry Minister Desley Boyle said the large volumes of air traffic, personal motor vehicle use and electricity consumption in the region added to the high figures. It was a wake-up call about the impact of climate change, she said.

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Aussies' wealth up 21 percent

THE financial wealth of Australians has soared 21 per cent in 12 months despite record spending on credit cards. And it could be even higher for many Australians if they bothered to check on their superannuation. About $12 billion remains in unclaimed super accounts, according to the Australian Taxation Office. Queenslanders now earn on average $1033.30 a week and nationally, Australians have an average wealth of about $60,000 each as household assets continue to rise.

According to CommSec's Craig James, the jump in wealth is attributable to a stronger sharemarket and increased inflows into superannuation. Financial assets such as shares and deposits rose by 2.5 per cent in the September quarter to $2.4 trillion while liabilities were also at a record $1.17 trillion. Mr James said in the past three years the average financial wealth of Australians had risen 70 per cent. And although the sharemarket has taken a battering in recent days, analysts believe there will be a strong recovery in January, but that may be the only good news.

Economists still believe that Australians will face a rate rise as early as February. Market analysts Michael Matusik said he expected mortgages to top 9 per cent next year and believed 50 per cent of new loans will be fixed. The impact will be a slowing housing market, he said. But rents were likely to jump another 15 per cent because of a shortage of stock and a continuing fall in new housing starts.

"If were to label 2008 at this stage it might best be called consolidation," Mr Matusik said. "While inflation is rising around the world and the US is in danger of heading into recession, our economy is marching to a different drum. "Once the current credit panic settles down, credit will be repriced and rationed, resulting in fewer housing loans and starts, which in turn will provide a solid floor under the residential market."

A Morgan Gallup poll this week also found 26 per cent of Australians expect unemployment to rise in the next 12 months, while most think it will stay the same or fall.

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A Ruddy good Prime Minister

For American readers: "Ruddy" is a polite form of "bloody" -- which is a mild expletive often used to mean simply "very". Tedious to explain a pun but the pedagogue in me comes out sometimes



FOR his first Christmas as Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd went to a morning church service then spent the afternoon washing dishes at the Lodge. Mr Rudd attended a eucharist service with his family at Canberra's oldest church, Saint John's [Anglican], where he married his wife, Therese Rein, in 1981.

He then went to his new home for lunch, but expressed concerns about fulfilling his duties as the Christmas Day dishwasher. The Rudds had given the staff at the Lodge the day off, which left Mr Rudd in charge of handling the industrial dishwasher. "I'm a hopeless cook," he told ABC radio yesterday. "I think [the dishwasher] is designed for a field army."

Mr Rudd went Christmas shopping on Saturday after returning from a trip to Afghanistan and Iraq. It was the first time a Prime Minister has spent Christmas at the Lodge for 12 years, when Paul Keating was leader. Mr Rudd is due to take a two-week holiday from January 1.

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