Achi news desk-
In the latest installment of Paint by Numbers, Crikey’s new series about the big issues of the day told through the numbers, we break down some of the astronomical sums associated with the AUKUS deal, and look at what we are getting for our money.
Money already spent on the French submarine deal when it was scrapped: $2.4 billion
Money spent coming out of that deal: $830 million
Money to be “invested” in US shipyards by Australia via AUKUS: $4.53 billion (over five years)
Money to be paid to the UK by Australia to clear “bottlenecks” at the nuclear reactor production line via AUKUS: $4.6 billion (over 10 years)
The total cost of AUKUS to Australia over the next decade: $58 billion
The amount of money the federal government has “pushed away” to raise defense funding over the next decade: $30 billion
Estimated number of experts with at least 20 years experience in nuclear technology required: 200
The number of specialists with at least 20 years’ experience in nuclear technology in Australia at present: “Almost nobody“
Number of jobs created during February 2024: 116,000
The number of jobs that Labor claims to have created since being in office (on 21 March): 790,000
The number of jobs created over the last 30 years by the Australian economy as a whole: 6 million
Estimated investment in Australian industry and workforce over the projections (May 2023): $6 billion.
How many jobs the government claims AUKUS will create in Australia over the next 30 years: 20,000
Total cost of AUKUS: $268-368 billion
Cost per job: $13.4-18.4 million
