West Australian Premier Heads to London to Push for Bigger AUKUS Role

With billions of dollars at stake for his state, Western Australia’s Premier Roger Cook wants AUKUS to succeed. So, with the agreement under review by the Pentagon, he’s headed to the UK.

While the review was initiated by the Trump administration, Cook rejected the suggestion that he should head to Washington to shore up the deal between Australia, the U.S., and the UK.

“This is an important trip to make sure that we can continue to assure the UK government that the Western Australian government is up for playing its part as part of the AUKUS partnership,” Cook told reporters before departing.

“The other aspect of this is the opportunity to talk about our defence industries and how WA is in a position to assist the UK with production and manufacturing.

“As part of their strategic defence review, the UK wants an extra 12 subs. That’s going to put constraints and pressures on their supply chains. We want to be part of that global supply chain because we know that WA businesses and industry are up for the sort of precision, expertise, and care that needs to be taken.”

Cook and WA Minister for Defence Industry Paul Papalia will visit His Majesty’s Naval Base in Devonport, where the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarines are repaired and refuelled, and will meet with UK government and defence industry leaders.

‘All War is Unnecessary:’ Cook

He also commented on recent international tensions, expressing hope that the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, announced by President Donald Trump, would hold.

“I’d like to think all war is unnecessary,” he said. “I’d like to think that any war is avoidable and that we can avoid the destruction and the loss of life that you see.”

Meanwhile, Greens MP and former ABC foreign correspondent Sophie McNeill used her inaugural speech in Western Australia’s Legislative Council to urge a halt to plans for the state to profit from the AUKUS agreement.

Wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf, she said Australia must not be “complicit” in foreign conflicts.

“We don’t want the future of our WA communities, of the beautiful city of Cockburn where I live, intrinsically intertwined with the U.S. military and its illegal wars,” she said.

At stake for WA are tens of billions of dollars, which will be spent by the federal and state governments on a new defence precinct at Henderson.

The project is expected to become the largest naval maintenance hub in the southern hemisphere, creating 10,000 jobs.

At the time of the announcement, Papalia said it would make defence the state’s second-largest industry after mining, with predictions that it could generate more than $16 billion a year for WA’s economy.