By Dominic Giannini in Canberra

A ruckus over AUKUS is erupting at Labor’s national conference as unions challenge the deputy prime minister over the security pact through which Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

The Australia-UK-US pact will deliver the submarines in the next decade but left-wing Labor delegates and some unions are arguing it goes against the party’s traditional anti-nuclear stance.

The Albanese government has been adamant the submarines comply with non-proliferation requirements and will not lead to Australia using or acquiring nuclear weapons.

But internal dissenters are still working to strike mention of AUKUS and nuclear submarines from the Labor policy platform.
Labor Against War national convenor Marcus Strom said forcing a debate on the conference floor was a victory in itself.

He said rank-and-file members “overwhelmingly oppose AUKUS” and see it as leading Australia down a war path.

“Australians do not want to be dragged into another US-led war,” he said.

“Assurances on this matter little when we don’t know who will be prime minister in five years or US president at the end of next year.”

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles is moving to add his own 32-paragraph statement to the party platform at the Labor conference on Friday.

Mr Marles, who is also the defence minister, will detail the reasons for supporting AUKUS and explain how it will be delivered in line with Labor’s values.

“Building Australia’s military defence capability sits alongside our diplomatic efforts, as we play our part in collective deterrence of aggression,” his statement reads.

“By having strong defence capabilities of our own, and by working with partners investing in their own capabilities, we change the calculus for any potential aggressor.”

It also includes a commitment to well-paid union jobs and reaffirms Australia’s commitment to the non-proliferation treaty.

“Labor commits that Australia’s SSN-AUKUS submarines will be built by Australian workers in South Australia,” the statement says.

“Labor will uphold its proud history of championing practical disarmament efforts, its commitment to high non-proliferation standards and its enduring dedication to a world without nuclear weapons,” it adds.

The statement is not an amendment to the national policy platform.

Amendments to the policy platform are being finalised ahead of the foreign policy debate on Friday morning.

It is unclear which amendments will be put forward.

Motions that pass the conference, which is made up of 399 voting delegates, become binding policy but it remains up to the parliamentary team as to how and when they are implemented.