BY JARROD MELMETH
A plan from the federal government to roll out nuclear powered submarines as part of its naval fleet is being described as "terrible" by the Hunter Peace Group.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the AUKUS pact with the United States and United Kingdom, which would see our naval feet boosted by the vessels using closely guarded US technology.
The Hunter Peace Group is calling for the region to be removed from any involvement with the submarines, following reports the Hunter could be considered as a potential maintenance port for the vessels.
The group, along with former Lord Mayor Joy Cummings, declared Newcastle a Nuclear Free Zone in 1982, a commitment which was reaffirmed by the current Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes in June this year.
City of Newcastle raised the Hunter Peace Group and International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons flags to commemorate Hiroshima Day earlier this year, marking the 76th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by US forces in World War II.
Secretary Lynda Forbes says she fears the repercussions of how this will all play out.
"I think we are going to see a lot more aggression towards China over the next year or so.
"I'm not surprised about it because this government has been building its defence budget enormously and what they're going to spend over the next decade is an unbelievable amount of money.
"The amount o money that is being spent just on these submarines is rather disgusting when there are so many people out there struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads," Ms Forbes said.
