I’ve just had a brainwave that can keep 1,000s of newly trained Australian nuclear engineers, techos, scientists and managers busy while they await the Virginias of the 2030s. Also they need gainfull employment in their post nuke submarine careers.
Australia doesn’t need a complementary civilian nuclear program when Aussies, like many Indian N techos, can busy themselves on a Nuclear Weapons program prior to nuclear propelled subs availability.
Australia could even mine the U and then produce the HEU with indigenous Australian SILEX laser enrichment technology. In WW2 Australian-UK radar and atomic bomb inventions were delivered to the US as highly valuable "reverse lend-lease". In a similar way a commercial SILEX enrichment plant is being built in Paducah, Kentucky - in what can be termed "reverse AUKUS".
Yes Australia's Southeast Asian and Pacific Island neighbours, and the nuclear haves, like China (all failing to disarm) may harbour reservations about this N weapons make work plan. But you can't make pavlovas without breaking eggs.
Australia's A$368500 billion by 2053 nuclear propelled sub program will be an under-armed (15 tonnes of conventional explosives max per sub) extravagance unless our SSNs have nuclear tipped future hypersonic cruise missiles.
“All I Am Saying Is [NOT] Give Peace A Chance” as the Beatles misguidedly sang, but Give Nuclear Weapons A Chance. This is while Indo-Pacific medium powers, like South Korea, Taiwan and under-armed great power Japan are thinking nuclear weapons.