Australia’s federal Opposition and leading military experts are calling on the Albanese Government to consider radical policy changes.

These would include allowing foreigners to fight under the Australian flag, to help address the recruitment crisis plaguing the nation’s defence force.

Former senior defence officials said Pacific Islanders should be allowed to enlist in the Australian Defence Force and offered an accelerated pathway to Australian citizenship, while others said the offer should be extended to citizens from friendly nations such as New Zealand, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The federal Government has set an ambitious goal of adding an extra 18,500 uniformed personnel by 2040, a 30 per cent increase on current levels, but the Defence Force is struggling to maintain its current staffing numbers.

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Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

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