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.
They added the invitation to enlist should be offered to citizens of other countries including New Zealand, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Last week, the federal government released its defence strategic review which found the Defence Force is “facing significant workforce challenges.”
Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie told the Age “with immigration about to increase, we should consider opening service in the ADF as an accelerated pathway to citizenship”.
“If someone is willing to fight and die for our country we should take them over a $5 million golden visa any day of the week,” he said.
Australia’s current policy states only Australian citizens are permitted to serve with exemptions granted on in “very rare and exceptional circumstances.”
The French Foreign Legion and the British army’s brigade of Nepalese Gurkhas are just two examples of other nations which allow foreigners to serve for their nation.
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