After all those Australian politicians who were involved in stitching us up for the dud AUKUS submarine deal got themselves lucrative jobs in the defence industry, we suddenly realise that the Americans won't give us any submarines anyway - not in 2030, not in 2045, not ever - and that there was never a Plan B.
Well, how is this for a Plan B? Instead of paying the Americans $368 billion for the promise of three submarines we will never receive, why not pay the Chinese $300 billion for the promise of never invading us?
That's about $300 for every man, woman and child in China, which buys them a lot of dumplings, and we save $68 billion, which we can use to build half a new footy stadium. A few submarines wouldn't have stopped them anyway, and by giving them the cash and banking the difference, we're both better off. And, best of all, we won't have to wait until 2045.
Richard Marles, no more squirming on the ABC's 7.30 Report. You're off the hook with the ABC and we're no longer in hock to the Americans!
