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Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said the government had no plans to withdraw from AUKUS – the security pact which will see nuclear submarines stationed and maintained south of Perth – as she defended the decision to continue pursuing the joint defence effort amid criticisms from within the Labor Party.

Pressed on internal party tensions over AUKUS after Labor MP Ed Husic said yesterday that the government should “rethink” its participation in the agreement, Wong said parliamentarians were entitled to their own views.

“Ed’s entitled to his views … We’re clear about why this is important for the country, and I think anyone looking at the world in which we live and the region in which we live understands that Australia needs effective military deterrence, of which submarines are a critical part, in order to assure the peace,” Wong said.