‘Not an answer’: Major move to boost defence recruits criticised

Strategic Analysis Australia founding director Michael Shoebridge has discussed the Australian Defence Force’s campaign to rapidly expand personnel. Permanent residents from Five Eyes partners the United Kingdom, United States and Canada, would be able to join Australia’s military from January 1, however only after they have been living in Australia for a year. However, according to Mr Shoebridge, the measures are unlikely to solve Australia's Defence Force recruitment issue. “People that have retired from the UK, US, New Zealand and Canadian militaries and have spent time living in Australia and then are desperate to join our military, they're not going to solve a workforce collapse that's 4,500 people big and growing,” Mr Shoebridge told Sky News host James Macpherson. “So that's not an answer. And if they were wildly successful, our Canadian, US, UK and other partners would say, stop, you're taking our military.”