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Turnbull says Morrison 'deceitful' on nuclear submarines deal
Turnbull, whose government approved the submarine deal with France in 2016, was scathing about the way Prime Minister Scott Morrison handled the switch, which was part of a new strategic alliance with the United States and Britain.
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Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (L) in Canberra on August 22, 2018, former home affairs minister Peter Dutton (C) in Canberra on August 21, 2018 and Treasurer Scott Morrison in Canberra on August 22, 2018. Turnbull's tenuous grip on power came under intense pressure on August 23, 2018, with the man who wants his job launching a second leadership challenge in a week and senior ministers defecting. Former home affairs minister Peter Dutton, an ex-police officer and right-wing conservative, said he was confident he now had the numbers to unseat Turnbull, considered a moderate. ABC and Sky News have reported that Treasurer Scott Morrison, Turnbull's right-hand man, would also stand if there was a ballot in a bid to derail Dutton's power grab. Sean Davey, Mark GRAHAM / AFP (AFP/Mark Graham)
F
ormer Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said Wednesday his successor "deliberately deceived" France when he scrapped a multi-billion-euro submarine deal with Paris in favour of nuclear-powered US or British alternatives.
Turnbull, whose government approved the submarine deal with France in 2016, was scathing about the way Prime Minister Scott Morrison handled the switch, which was part of a new strategic alliance with the United States and Britain.
"Morrison has not acted in good faith. He deliberately deceived France. He makes no defence of his conduct other than to say it was in Australia's national interest," Turnbull told the National Press Club in Canberra.
"France believes it has been deceived and humiliated, and she was. This betrayal of trust will dog our relations with Europe for years," he added.
"The Australian government has treated the French Republic with contempt."
Turnbull said that despite the new US-Britain-Australia defence partnership, there was no contract signed for Australia to buy nuclear-powered submarines, expected to be either Britain's Astute or the larger US Virginia class.
"Australia now has no new submarine program at all," he said, quoted by AFP. "The only certainty is that we won't have new submarines for 20 years and their cost will be a lot more than the French-designed subs."
