Australian independents unite to call for AUKUS inquiry ahead of general election

Canberra, April 10 (IANS) Independent candidates who could hold the balance of power following Australia's general election have united to call for a parliamentary inquiry into the AUKUS security pact.

Incumbent independent Members of Parliament (MPs) Zoe Daniel and Monique Ryan, as well as candidate Nicolette Boele, said on Thursday that if they win their respective seats at the May 3 election, they will push for a far-reaching inquiry into whether Australia should explore submarine options other than AUKUS.

If neither the governing Labor Party nor the opposition Coalition wins at least 76 out of the 150 electorates that comprise the lower house of parliament, an eventuality known as a hung parliament, they will enter negotiations with minor parties and independent MPs for their support to form a minority government, meaning the independents could hold the balance of power.

The Greens, Australia's third-largest political party with four current lower house MPs, previously announced that it will push for an exit from AUKUS if it is part of a minority government.

"The fact that the major parties aren't talking about such a critical issue during an election campaign is deeply concerning," Boele, who is running as an independent in a Coalition-held seat in northern Sydney, said on Thursday.

"Since we signed AUKUS in 2021 the rules of global cooperation have changed."

Daniel, who worked as a journalist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation prior to winning a Coalition-held seat in Melbourne's southeast at the 2022 election, said that a review of AUKUS should be a priority for the next parliament, referencing a British inquiry established earlier in April.

"If it's prudent for the UK to reassess, it is essential for Australia to do the same," she said.

Like Daniel, Ryan also won her southeast Melbourne electorate from the Coalition in 2022 when she defeated the then-Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

Ryan said on Thursday that Australia should consider "all contingencies and alternatives" in planning its mid and long-term defence capacity.

The independents announced their position on day 13 of the five-week campaign for the general election, Xinhua news agency reported. Australia's relationship with the US has become a major issue in the election following US President Donald Trump's move to impose sweeping tariffs.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday told reporters in the northeastern state of Queensland that it is "quite clear from the response of the markets" that the tariffs are doing harm to the US economy.

"It is doing harm to its prospects of employment, inflation, all the key figures as well," he said.

Coalition leader Peter Dutton said in Melbourne that Trump's decision to wind back tariffs on imports from many countries to 10 percent for 90 days reflected his "volatility."

Dutton said that if he becomes PM, he would talk to Trump about the opportunities to "expand the trading relationship" in critical minerals and other elements that Australia can provide.

Labor's Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, on Thursday debated his Coalition counterpart, Ted O'Brien, at the National Press Club in Canberra.

Asked about the Coalition's plan to abandon Australia's current 2030 target of reducing emissions by 43 per cent from 2005 levels, O'Brien left open the possibility of leaving the Paris Climate Accord if the party determined that meeting climate targets would do too much damage to the economy.

Under its plan to build seven nuclear reactors on the sites of retiring coal plants, the Coalition would scrap the 2030 emissions target but remain committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

Labor has instead committed to achieving emissions reduction targets and decarbonization through a renewables-only approach.

--IANS

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