Mr Morrison will on Monday tell a forum organised ed by foreign policy think tank the Lowy Institute that defence officials have been tasked with talking to the Queensland and NSW governments on setting up a multi-billion dollar nuclear-submarine.

Other sites being considered include Newcastle and Port Kembla, reportedly considered by defence officials as the most suitable.

The base would also host visiting nuclear submarines as well as Australia’s vessels.

The three potential sites have been chosen because of their proximity to industrial infrastructure, large population centres, deep water, maritime training and weapons storage and loading facilities.

Initial work is set to be completed by the end of 2023.

However, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has turned up his criticism of the subs deal, calling it an abandonment of sovereignty.

Australia acquiring nuclear-powered submarines was  the worst thing the country could do in the face of rising global tensions, Mr Turnbull said.

He said the deal had undermined Australia’s national security, especially after growing instability seen in Europe.

“It’s going to result in us having nuclear submarines, if it ever comes to pass, that we not only can’t build, can’t maintain and will not be able to operate on our own,” he told ABC Radio on Monday.

“It’s exactly the worst things that we should be doing in the face of the threats we face.”

Fleet Base West in Western Australia will remain home to the current Collins class and future nuclear-powered submarines, given its strategic importance on the Indian Ocean.

“(But) establishing a second submarine base on our east coast will enhance our strategic deterrent capability, with significant advantages in operational, training, personnel and industrial terms,” Mr Morrison will say in his Lowy Institute speech.

“An optimal east coast base would provide home-ported submarines with specialised wharfs, maintenance facilities, administrative and logistics support, personnel amenities, and suitable accommodation for submarine crews and support staff.

The prime minister will tell the forum the “unprovoked, unjust and illegal war” launched by Russia in Ukraine was a sign of a “new arc of autocracy” seeking to challenge and reset the world order.

“We face the spectre of a transactional world, devoid of principle, accountability and transparency,” he says.

Turnbull said the government was using the submarine deal as a political wedge against Labor ahead of the federal election.

He said it was unlikely there was any way the design or construction details about the submarines could be released in a credible way before the election took place, due to be held by May.

“We are literally on the eve of an election, and rushing decisions which are meant to take 18 months into a six-month timeframe to save an election is just as transparently political,” he said.

“It makes us less self reliant and it undermines our national security.”