Australia’s Bold Leap Forward: Beyond AUKUS to a Multi-Track Future

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The Pacific has transformed into a fierce arena of technological and geopolitical ambition, where innovation will crown the dominant powers by 2035. China’s Shijian-25 satellite, launched in January 2025, with its on-orbit refueling and stealth capabilities, boldly challenges U.S. dominance, as US Space Force’s Ron Lerch warns. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s strategic shift, per Forbes on March 11, 2025, from legacy giants like Lockheed Martin to agile innovators like SpaceX, signals a global race Australia must not merely join but lead. 

AUKUS, with its $368 billion submarine commitment, is a cornerstone of our defense, yet it’s not enough—its vulnerabilities demand a broader, multi-track vision. A new leadership regime must ignite this charge with unrelenting pace, forging self-reliance, advancement, and resilience by 2035, and laying the groundwork for sustainable leadership in the Global South by mid-century.

Labor’s stewardship buckles under pressure. The Albanese government’s 2% GDP spending ($22 billion) and the 2023 cancellation of the National Space Mission for Earth Observation (NSMEO), as noted in "Australia’s Vulnerable Stance," leave our $34.2 million Space Agency trailing NASA’s $25.4 billion. Trump’s steel tariffs—25% on allies—cast shadows over AUKUS, fueling internal dissent.

Senator Fatima Payman, intensifyed her critique on March 13, 2025:

“Not a friendly act from a so-called ally! The US is slapping tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium … what’s next? If Trump won’t even give us fair trade, how can we trust him with our national security? This is the perfect moment for Australia to walk away from AUKUS. But does this PM have the courage to make that call?” 

MP Josh Wilson, on March 21, 2023, cautioned, "I'm not yet convinced that we can adequately deal with the non-proliferation risks involved in what is a novel arrangement". Today, Malcolm Turnbull has weighed in on the matter “AUKUS is so unfair to Australia… we are paying US$3bn to the Americans to support their submarine industrial base, but we have no guarantee that we will ever get any submarines.”

Richard Marles, Deputy PM and Defence Minister, has fiercely defended AUKUS, stating on March 15, 2025, “This pact strengthens our sovereignty and deterrence—it’s too critical to abandon,” echoing his 2023 Guardian stance that it’s “too big to fail.” Yet, AUKUS’s cracks—U.S. reliability, internal rifts—demand more than one pillar. 

China’s 102 satellites and naval presence, alongside India’s lunar push, signal a Pacific we cannot dominate with submarines alone. A multi-dimensional strategy must converge science, space, and defense with civilian aspirations. 

Senator James Paterson, in a 2022 ABC interview, affirmed this: "The nuclear submarines are only one element of AUKUS... they will probably arrive in the 2030s, although we don’t know exactly when. That's being worked out right now with the review underway." 

He added, "What we will get in the meantime is significantly enhanced cyber capability. What we are cooperating on right now is artificial intelligence and quantum computing," spotlighting Pillar Two’s immediate cyber and tech gains, as in "A Liberal Pathway."

National sentiment must rally behind this—senior officials need to lead the market of ideas, prosecuting AUKUS’s case by outlining its strategic rationale and showcasing system-wide benefits: export control reforms, workforce interchangeability, and bolstered roles in global economic and tech supply chains. Government messaging must amplify these milestones—4,000-5,500 jobs, AI leadership, and cyber resilience—as a unifying national ambition transcending defense, igniting pride and purpose.

This isn’t an option—it’s an imperative. A visionary government post-2025 must harness our scientific community, private capital, and pioneering spirit—igniting a space industry to rival global titans, establishing manufacturing hubs to fuel prosperity, and integrating climate solutions with security, echoing the bold legacy of the Snowy Hydro or Sydney Harbour Bridge. 

To secure our space and sovereignty, Australia must commit boldly by 2035, far surpassing the $10 billion aerospace budget—a paltry sum dwarfed by NASA’s $25.4 billion, AUKUS’s scale, and an erratic U.S. regime’s unpredictability. We need a decisive push to advance AI, rivaling global leaders like Palantir and countering China’s “intelligentized” warfare, alongside building domestic semiconductor strength to end foreign supply chain risks and reviving the National Space Mission for Earth Observation (NSMEO) with trusted partners. Industry demands a 3% GDP surge—$60-70 billion by 2035—to match China’s tech dominance (57 of 64 domains).

Australia must seize this moment not as a bystander, but as a decisive leader, crafting a digital society brimming with abundance and security—a beacon of freedom and democratic ideals in the Global South by 2050. 

As Forbes highlights in 2025, citing the United States' defence priorities, “More than ever before, our nation’s (U.S) security relies on our military deploying new technologies like AI, cyber, autonomy and space—the industries of the future.”

This ambition requires fierce rivalry with trading partners and adversaries, matching China’s state-driven defence-tech strength and soaring space achievements, while striving to champion modern democracy through the century’s first half. Paterson’s Home Affairs consolidation, from "Australia’s Vulnerable Stance," addresses intelligence vulnerabilities—essential against cyberattacks—while Dutton’s Liberals offer a chance to revitalize Australia’s private-sector science and technology hubs, advancing space and defense with trusted partners like EOS and SpaceX, as outlined in "A Liberal Pathway."

Labor’s divide—Payman and Wilson versus Marles—reveals risks, yet AUKUS’s multi-track promise must spark a wider vision. Australia will forge ahead, not trail behind, building a robust economy and secure society that thrives amid trade wars. By 2035, space and AI will dominate—Labor must shift from hesitation, or a Liberal surge must take charge.

This is our mandate: a self-reliant, advancing Australia, preeminent by 2035, a guiding light in the Global South by 2050—or a future surrendered to rivals. Bold leadership will triumph—one pillar alone won’t hold.