AUKUS submarine base protests in Australia

Fierce resistance mounted by Australian unions against plans for a new submarine base shows the challenge facing the high-stakes defence project with the United States and Britain that aims to counter China’s growing influence in the Pacific region.
Plans for the base are part of Australia’s largest defence project since World War Two, the acquisition of a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines costing up to A$368 billion ($240 billion).
That fleet is the first major deal of the AUKUS security pact, signed in 2021 between Australia, Britain and the United States, spurring Australia’s drive to build or refurbish military infrastructure.
Following backlash from unions and environmental groups, the government has said it had not decided on Port Kembla, a bastion of the ruling centre-left Labor government that media had reported to be the favoured location for the base.