Australian Treasury Minister Jim Chalmers announced that "the Australian government will allocate approximately $245 billion for the implementation of the nuclear submarine construction program over the next 32 years, which will increase the defense budget." He stated that "the program falls within the framework of the AUKUS alliance agreements (a trilateral partnership between Australia, the UK, and the US)."
In his remarks, he noted that "the cost of the nuclear submarine construction program for the Australian Navy will amount to no less than 0.15% of the country's GDP annually throughout its entire operational period from 2023 to the mid-2050s." Chalmers revealed that "over the next ten years, spending on this project will remain around AUD 58 billion (USD 38.6 billion)." He indicated that "the total cost of the program will be approximately AUD 368 billion (USD 244.8 billion), which represents significant expenditures that will put substantial pressure on the federal budget. However, Australia cannot afford to forego this, as this program will greatly benefit our national security and economy in the future."
