Armed Forces

One of the main reasons for countries forming (in ancient times) was that a national force could protect individual communities much better than they could on their own. Lefties and greenies are typically anti-military, because individually they tend to be pacifists. When running a country, pacifism has its limits – even Switzerland has an army. In fact the Swiss model is one that could be adapted – it has only 5% career soldiers and does not participate in foreign conflicts (with the exception of peace-keeping roles). Australia has two key differences to Switzerland which need to be addressed:

Geography – as a massive country with a low population, there is a strong need for local militia.

USA – being a close military ally with the USA has numerous benefits, and the relationship should be maintained to some degree. With very few career soldiers, the Swiss model could be modified so that there is some foreign conflict participation, but only by commandos fulfilling elite roles.