Sydney ruled out as nuclear submarine base – despite topping list of sites in Defence study

Questions raised about how Coalition settled on its three potential locations

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Sydney Harbour has been ruled out as a site for the proposed new base for Australia's nuclear-powered submarines, with officials insisting it was not viable because of limitations on berth space and shore facilities".

Questions have been raised about how the Morrison government settled on the three potential sites it announced this week - Port Kembla in Wollongong, Newcastle and Brisbane - given that these were not among the top five options listed in a previous Defence review.

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