Amidst rising rhetoric of nuclear war this week, Defence Minister Peter Dutton pitched Newcastle harbour as a possible base for Australia's nuclear subs.
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If and when they're ever built.
It's not clear yet what the leaseholders of Newcastle Harbour think about this proposal.
But Mr Dutton and the PM have certainly been touting China as the nation most likely to trigger future hypothetical hostility in the Indo Pacific. After the US perhaps.
Given the 98-year lease China has on Newcastle harbour, a nuclear submarine base would raise some interesting questions.
Like would it increase the likelihood of Nukecastle being a potential target of a hypothetical attack in the event of conflict?
Or rather would Newcastle harbour be viewed as the threat?
And if so, from, to and by whom?
It gets hard distinguishing between military deterrence and national interest when you can't work out who's the away team and who's playing at home.
And given those questions, in such unfortunate event, would a hypothetical strike constitute an attack or rather defence?
Or simply the most unfortunate strike to ever hit Newcastle's docks?
It's a worry this type of conversation is back on the table but President Putin seems to have reset the table with his invasion of Ukraine, and everyone's trying to organise a seat.
Our local council was quick to remind Mr Dutton that Newcastle is a declared nuclear free zone, but the world is a complicated place.
Just over a decade ago, Newcastle was a declared Town In Transition, away from coal, complete with one lonely wind turbine on Kooragang Island dwarfed by mountains of coal.
Things change, it seems, and not just the climate.
Maybe that's why Mr Dutton dangled the nuclear sub idea this week.
To the good people of Newcastle, Illawarra, Brisbane, and any other possible swinging seat he could identify.
To sway a few votes in an election year.
Even though it's more likely China's 98-year lease will expire before Australia gets its next subs.
And possibly long after we see a very fast train pull into Broadmeadow.
It only added more uncertainty to what has been a disrupted fortnight.
Setting aside the pandemic that's been ticking away in the background.
There's been the floods that have washed lives and livelihoods away along the east coast.
There's the specture of full-blown war and upheaval in Europe engulfing us all.
There's the war on climate change which the UN says we're losing.
And just when you thought things couldn't get much worse, we lost Stumpy Rod Marsh and Warnie.
All I can say is thank goodness the NRL kicked off this week.
