On Thursday, 23 October, the United States Studies Centre (USSC) and the American Australian Association hosted a closed-door event with Utah Governor Spencer Cox to discuss opportunities for innovation and cooperation within AUKUS.
The event featured a keynote address by Governor Cox followed by a panel discussion moderated by the Director of the USSC’s Foreign Policy and Defence Program Dr Lavina Lee. Panellists included:
- Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead AO RAN, Director-General of the Australian Submarine Agency
- Kate Louis, Head of Defence and National Security at the Australian Industry Group
- Professor Peter Dean, the Hassett Chair of Military Strategy at the Australian War College and Senior Adviser for Defence Strategy with the United States Studies Centre
In front of an audience of private, public and academic sector leaders from the United States and Australia, the discussion focused on opportunities for innovation that AUKUS has enabled. Following this week’s meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese, which reiterated US support for the partnership, speakers expressed optimism regarding opportunities for deepened training, education, and industry engagement. Key themes included:
- Utah's unique role in national defence as home to one of the United States’ largest Air Force bases, aerial and missile defense systems, a strong university system, and an advanced mining capacity.
- The enduring bipartisan support for AUKUS in all three signatory countries, indicating the strength of the partnership and high levels of trust between the parties.
- Reforms needed to operationalise AUKUS Pillar 2, including clearly delineating an Australian national strategy, milestones, and funding streams to send demand signals to industry and foster innovation.
- The importance of university-to-university, state-to-state, and business-to-business cooperation to accelerate innovation beyond the pace of federal government.
- The importance of earning the social licence for AUKUS among the Australian people, including through ongoing public engagement which builds trust and awareness among key stakeholders.
- Opportunities to increase nuclear literacy in Australia in preparation for nuclear-powered submarine transfers.
- The need to align cybersecurity standards between the three signatory countries to enable greater innovation among industry and educational opportunities.
- The need to take advantage of the enabling environment created by federal legislation.
American Australian Association CEO Ian Irving delivered a vote of thanks, highlighting the need for industry to seize the tremendous innovation opportunities generated by AUKUS, and reiterating the panel’s insights about how the trilateral agreement safeguards the benefits that democracy affords to citizens in the three signatory countries.
The United States Studies Centre regularly uses its convening power to broker international conversations to find solutions to issues facing the Australia-US alliance. With high levels of bipartisan support for AUKUS in all three signatory countries, there are increasing opportunities to share insights, find new connections and work together to realise these alliance objectives.
