There’s a push for Australia’s Federal Government to allow New Zealanders to fight under their flag, in exchange for expedited citizenship.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports the opposition’s Defence spokesperson Andrew Hastie wants citizens from countries like New Zealand, the US, Japan and the Pacific Islands to enlist in the Australian Defence Force.
He said people could be offered “an accelerated pathway to citizenship” as an incentive.
“If someone is willing to fight and die for our country, we should take them over a $5m golden visa any day of the week,” he said.
It’s unclear whether the plan would see New Zealanders offered an even quicker pathway to citizenship under this proposed plan, despite changes coming into effect in July.
It comes as the ADF struggles to maintain staffing levels, with the government setting a goal of an additional 18,500 uniformed personnel by 2040.
The idea also has the backing of Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie, who told 1News that the plan shouldn’t come at the cost of the New Zealand Defence Force being properly staffed.
“Our defence force is a little like yours, the retention rates are not looking good, and trying to get people to join is another issue,” she said.
“In the same sentence here, we also want to make sure that we're certainly not making you guys lighten up any more than what you have two.”
However, the New Zealand Defence Force is facing staffing issues of its own.
While a spokesperson wouldn’t comment on the Australian proposal, it said in the last two years, the Regular Force has lost 29.8% of its full-time, uniformed, trained, and experienced personnel.
That number’s expected to rise to 32.6% by the end of June.
However, the idea’s unlikely to gain significant traction in Australia.
When responding to a significant review of Australia’s military capabilities last week, Defence Minister Richard Marles said from a security perspective, future recruits would need to come from Australia.
“One of the unique features of this sector, both in terms of those who wear our nation's uniform, who serve in the department, but also those who work in defence industry, is that we really need citizens to be doing that work from the point of view of our security requirements,” he said.
“That adds to the challenge, and we completely understand the training that is going to be required here.”
Senator Lambie told 1News that “there’s nothing wrong with national security here” and said there was “nothing to lose”.
“I just want to see where we can collate together in the future to make us a bigger force under one umbrella,” she said.
“(We can) still keep our own identity, but seriously, let's talk about it.”
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