News live: Australia to buy only second-hand nuclear subs from US in major Aukus switch; Hanson says she could be PM
Australia will now get only second-hand Virginia-class submarines under Aukus, while Labor races to settle capital gains tax and housing disputes.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
The live blog’s main development is a major Aukus change: Australia will receive three in-service Virginia-class submarines instead of a mix of new and used boats. The same update also tracks Labor’s push to fix capital gains tax changes and rebut claims its housing policy will miss the mark.
Australia had been waiting for a new kind of submarine deal. Now the plan has changed, and the country will get only older nuclear submarines from the US instead of a mix of old and new ones.
At the same time, the government is arguing about taxes and houses. Officials say a tax change needs fixing, and they say new spending should help more homes get built, even though some people disagree.
It is a bit like planning a big family trip and then changing the car order halfway through. The trip still happens, but the details matter a lot because they affect the whole plan.
Analysis
Aukus change
Australia will no longer receive any new Virginia-class submarines from the US under the Aukus arrangement. Instead, the plan is now for three in-service boats, with the joint statement saying the revised approach should make acquisition simpler, reduce supply-chain and maintenance complexity, and improve cost efficiency.
The change matters because Australia had been expecting a mix of older and newer Virginia-class submarines for the early 2030s as it prepares to move to nuclear-powered boats. The article also notes pressure on US shipyards, which are trying to increase output toward a goal of 2.3 new submarines a year by 2032.
Domestic policy fights
The live blog also covers Clare O’Neil’s push to repair Labor’s capital gains tax proposal after criticism from businesses and investors. She says the government wants the issue resolved quickly, while also arguing that the criticism is overstated and that the design still needs work in places where a business begins with no cost base.
Housing is another fault line. O’Neil rejects warnings that new infrastructure spending will not lift supply, saying Treasury modelling shows policy would increase housing completions by 420,000 relative to what would otherwise happen. The Treasury secretary, by contrast, says the budget’s tax changes are aimed more at changing the distribution of housing than directly lifting supply.
The live page also records other political remarks, including Pauline Hanson’s claim that she could become prime minister, but the Aukus shift and the tax-and-housing debate are the clearest through-lines in the update.
Key points
- Australia will receive three in-service Virginia-class submarines, not a mix of new and old boats, under the revised Aukus approach.
- The joint statement says the new plan should simplify supply chains, maintenance and costs.
- Clare O’Neil says the government wants capital gains tax problems resolved quickly, despite criticism from businesses and startups.
- The government says its housing policy will lift completions, while Treasury says the tax changes are more about housing distribution than supply.
