Australia looks to Pacific Islands for defence recruits [1]
Thursday, September 15, 2005 - 10:45. Updated on Thursday, May 8, 2014 - 22:06.
The Australian Defence Force in its search for qualified recruits could recruit up to 2000 Pacific islanders into the army.
Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill was reported by AAP, as saying today that the ADF would consider recruiting experienced soldiers from Pacific nations.
Senator Hill said the ADF already did some overseas recruiting and had taken on some capable former British soldiers with experience in Northern Ireland and Kosovo.
"I look around the Pacific and I also see soldiers that are very experienced," he said. "If you take Fiji for example, for years they have provided peacekeeping forces in the Lebanon and the Sinai and elsewhere in the world. If they wish to migrate to Australia and apply for work in the ADF we may find that some of them are very well qualified for the job."
Senator Hill said the ADF would continue to recruit inside Australia for the vast majority of its personnel.
"If we can attract soldiers that add quality to the ADF from elsewhere in the world, I see that as a good thing," he said.
Senator Hill said there was an ever expanding role for the ADF because of the threat of terrorism. "That means we have got to have numbers as well as the technical capabilities and the training," he said.