Why are we hearing that it was Australia’s preference to receive three second-hand subs now?

The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, says Australia will be getting three nuclear submarines from the US as promised, but can’t say why we’re only now finding out that it was Australia’s intention in the first place to receive three used ones.

This all came out over the weekend, when the defence minister, Richard Marles, revealed that Australia won’t receive one new and two used submarines as previously stated, but three second hand ships. Since then, everyone’s been asking ‘what changed’, but it was then revealed at Senate estimates that it was the government’s preference in the first place for all to be second hand.

On the ABC’s RN Breakfast, Gallagher is asked why the public wasn’t told that in the first place. She doesn’t really say.

These estimates are obviously going through the budget, but this is something that we’ve been talking about for a long time. This is a capability that Australia needs. We’re going through discussions with the US and the UK as we progress AUKUS, but this is a capability that we are needing and we’re needing it through the AUKUS partnership. So we’ll continue to talk through AUKUS. Estimates will continue.

Asked about Ed Husic’s call for a rethink of Aukus, Gallagher echoes her colleague, Penny Wong, and says “he’s entitled to his view”, but adds that the public remarks are not a surprise:

I don’t think it’s particularly surprising that Ed’s talking publicly. He does on a number of matters. He’s entitled to his view. He’s made that clear. But the government remains committed to the agreement that we signed up to in opposition and that we are implementing in government.