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| Down Under |
| Defence plan 'not step toward draft' |
| 2006-10-15 |
| A SCHEME encouraging school leavers to spend a year in the army is not a step towards conscription, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said today. Dr Nelson has unveiled plans to persuade high school graduates considering a gap year to join the defence force instead of going backpacking or volunteering abroad. The minister said the Government would offer up to 1,000 places in the army under the so-called "try before you buy" program. The package will also contain initiatives to encourage those who take up the offer to return to the military within five years, but Dr Nelson would not detail those incentives today. He said the move was not a shift back toward conscription or national service. "The Government has absolutely no intention at all of reintroducing national service or conscription," he said. "It would be extremely divisive in Australia, there would be a great fault line through Australian society. "The only circumstance under which any Government would seriously entertain national service or conscription is if there was a direct, immediate and credible military threat to Australia." Dr Nelson said the gap year program was another way of boosting recruitment, which he acknowledged was "constipated". The ADF was currently recruiting 7,500 people each year but needed about 8,500, he said. Defence lobby group, the Australia Defence Association, wants the Government to consider waiving HECS fees if the program is eventually expanded. The minister said he would not rule that out, as there were already HECS waivers for ADF recruits studying at university. "Everything is on the table except national service or conscription," Dr Nelson said. "One of the many options we can look at is giving financial incentives for further study and HECS is obviously one of those variables." Dr Nelson said the gap program would "complete the loop". "We have defence cadets, we have a gap year program for people to complete one year in the Australian defence force, our regular service and of course our reservists," he said. "This is something that has got to be great for young people, good for defence, and that means it's good for Australia." The minister will release a full package of measures to boost recruitment and retention in the ADF in the next few months. |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #1 seems like a win/win for everyone. |
| Posted by: anon 2006-10-15 11:01 |