Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles on the changes coming to defence force recruiting

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says he hopes the negative views of Australia isn’t discouraging Australians from joining the Defence Force.

His comments come after Mornings host, Tom Elliott, questioned what students are being taught about Australia’s history, and how it could be stopping potential recruits.

“Oh, I think the way you’ve just put it is a particularly negative perspective … there’s an incredible indigenous history of service in the Australian Defence Force,” he said.

Press PLAY to hear his full thoughts

Rules surrounding who can join Australia’s Defence Force will be reworked in a bid to combat the force’s recruitment crisis.

Political scientist at the University of Tasmania, Dr Richard Herr, says the changes are an incentive for a fast-track for citizenship.

“We’ve been too insistent on having citizenship first,” he said.

Press PLAY to hear what the changes are + who would be able to join the Defence Force under the new changes

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