Former prime minister Scott Morrison says China's rapid military build-up was at 'the top of the list' of factors driving the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal he brokered in deep secrecy with the United States and the United Kingdom. begley_patrick
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.Scott Morrison says the main reason for the AUKUS deal was China's military expansion.abc.net.
"We needed to acquire something that, as you said, no previous government had been able to do," Mr Morrison said. Asked if China's rapid military expansion had prompted the United States to say yes, Mr Morrison said: "It was a combination of events but that was certainly at the top of the list." Former prime minister Scott Morrison said it had been his ambition to expand the AUKUS agreement beyond nuclear-powered submarines.
"And of course, what we have seen is those things come about perhaps more quickly than even we had assessed," Mr Cleverly said.Mr Morrison was also asked about Robodebt, the failed scheme that was meant to collect Centrelink debts. Stuart Robert said he was required to toe the government line because of the rules of Cabinet solidarity.
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