Bin fodder: Garrett and his AUKUS inquiry

Mike Smithson argues the federal government will thank the commissioners in Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett’s inquiry and then file its copy in the nearest bin.

When Adelaide became the epicentre of a public inquiry into the AUKUS submarine project it was certain that sparks would fly.

Midnight Oil band frontman and former Labor Environment Minister Peter Garrett was the ideal person to take centre stage by storm and sing from the rooftops about his grave fears and the “extreme risks” regarding this $368 billion dollar project.

In some respects, I share his concerns which are likely to linger long after Garrett or I have left this earth when the fifth nuclear powered sub is delivered in 2054.

The chances of today’s technology still being useful in three decades’ time and beyond are fanciful.

The first domestically built AUKUS sub is due to roll off the Osborne production line in 2042, but that already seems unlikely as these mammoth projects rarely run on time or on budget.

Garrett is an activist with considerable gravitas.

His so-called independent inquiry features a galaxy of fellow commissioners including a former Labor premier and a former Chief of the Australian Defence Force.

But was Garrett the right person to lead the publicly funded probe or sell a believable and unbiased message?

His views on many issues, including in song, could signal that an inquiry decision is already a done deal before even hearing all the evidence.

It’s unlikely Garrett would ever give US forces the nod however critical AUKUS might be for the nation’s security and South Australia’s economy.

There........

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