The Australian Citizens Party (ACP) have written to the National Anti- Corruption Commission (NACC), asking them to investigate former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s decision to join private companies who will profit from the massive defence expenditure resulting from Morrison’s decision to establish AUKUS — a decision the ACP characterised as “extraordinary, unilateral and secretive”. Dr John Jiggens details the hidden back story of AUKUS.

On the 15th of September 2021, the ABC announced that Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, would be holding a press conference with British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and US President Joe Biden.

The trio of Anglo-leaders were gathered to announce the birth of AUKUS, an acronym formed from the initials of Australia, the UK, and the US, arranged in that order because if you started with the US and the UK first, it spelled out the unfortunate ─ though more accurate ─ acronym, USUKA.

Those who watched that press conference found themselves bewildered spectators to a momentous occasion in Australian history, the big reveal of a clandestine scheme that was hatched by the secrecy-loving Scott Morrison with the aid of a tiny cabal of immensely powerful friends. A new security partnership was being launched— clearly aimed at China, though the name ‘China’ was as unmentionable as Voldemort. AUKUS was sprung on an unsuspecting Australian people, fully formed and completely out of the blue.

The occasion was a giddying success for Scott Morrison, though spoiled when President Biden began his AUKUS speech with one of his characteristic verbal stumbles, correctly remembering the name of UK PM, Boris Johnson, but fluffing Scott Morrison’s!

Unable to recall the name of the Australian Prime Minister, Biden introduced him as “that fella down under”, an ungrateful acknowledgement, given the key role Morrison played. John Howard called AUKUS, Morrison’s greatest achievement, while Peter Dutton listed it as the standout achievement of Morrison’s government, which it was, dwarfing even ‘robodebt’! While two of the designers of AUKUS – Johnson and Morrison– were present, Biden was clearly somewhere other.

Before this carefully-crafted reveal, only a very few had any inkling of the AUKUS project. The AUKUS deal was crafted in secret by Morrison, with no public discussion of AUKUS, no mention in the media, nor in the parliament, nor in........

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