The SMH has a story this morning reporting on comments by the Deputy to the Associate Director (Defence) in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (phew), Jerry Hendrix. The comments are old – he made them last year – but they’re being dragged up because Hendrix is now supposed to be overseeing the revitalisation of the sluggish American shipbuilding industry – the same one that needs to catch up on its own production needs before it can hand over any submarines to Australia as part of the Aukus deal (which is very unlikely).

Hendrix said that “the Australians have been noticeably fickle” about the deal. Which, lol. This is coming from the same administration that has itself put the deal to a review because it’s not convinced it’s consistent with Trump’s “America First” agenda. It’s also the same administration that accepted an $800 million no-strings-attached deposit and then turned around and slapped tariffs on Australian aluminium and steel. Oh, and the same one that is threatening Australian pharmaceutical exports because our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme gets a fair price for life-saving medicines from US drug companies. Maybe we could talk about being “noticeably fickle” about free trade agreements?

It’s also worth mentioning that Hendrix is now in this role partly because the administration is – you guessed it – a bit fickle. Not that long ago, Trump issued an executive order setting up a shipbuilding unit in the National Security Council – where you’d expect something like this to sit. But that didn’t last. As the SMH reports, the NSC was downsized, the guy who was originally in charge left for the private sector, and the role was moved to OMB. That’s important too, but for less fickle reasons. OMB sits in the Executive Branch and “serves the President of the United States in overseeing the implementation of his vision.” OMB was specifically identified by Project 2025 as a vehicle for further concentrating power and authority in the hands of the president.

That’s the same president the Australian government is relying on to stick to the Aukus deal. A deal it is currently reviewing. It looks increasingly likely that the review will come back demanding what could be described as conditionality on steroids. Australia getting those Virginia class submarines will be conditional on two factors: first, the needs of the US Navy being met in all respects first, which even the Americans think is unlikely. And second, an Australian pre-commitment to future US military adventures. That should be a red line for any sovereign nation. And it should encourage us to be as fickle as possible and rethink the deal in its entirety.

It shouldn’t have to be said, but really – in a healthy democracy, putting a deal the size and scope of Aukus to a parliamentary review should be welcome. Not least because we’re now dealing with an administration that at best could be described as “fickle”. 

If you’re feeling fickle yourself, you can pop on over and sign our petition calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the Aukus deal.