ttbn,
I did not serve as I left the old country before I was due & once here I couldn't because I wasn't a citizen for several years. I was actually not eligible to even join the reserves.
It wasn't National Service then, it was military service. I was around when my older brothers served military service as did my older cousins & every one of them credited the service with making them better citizens as in fact did a massive majority of the population. Besides apprenticeships, the service offered & helped many to get careers. Even here in Australia most working people actually support a NS particularly those who are sick of being taxed to the eyeballs so those on easy street can keep walking down easy street.
The only people who object to discipline are the ones who don't mind demanding others pay tax for them to go through life without contributing anything.
As I have said so many times here already, anyone (18-20) unemployed should be required to learn basic life skills & to learn how to be of use to themselves & those whom they turn to when times get tough. Parasitism is simply not a choice in a society that depends on a symbiosis !

So, the only difference between you and me is that you believe in forcing a selected section of the population to do what neither of us was forced to do, and I don't.

I think that forcing some people to do something that others are not forced to do is completely unfair, to say the least. And, I don't think that it is going to happen. Conscription of any sort belongs to the distant past; and I don't think it would be tolerated in Australia in the 21st. Century; nor would the political class be game to try it.

It is highly unlikely that conscription would contribute much to our defence, given one suggestion expressed recently that, “Australia has been working on an idea that it would have ten years warning to get ready for war. Sadly, we got that warning more than ten years ago but did nothing”.

The person who made this suggestion, also expressed the truism that military brass is not up to scratch, and that they are so busy trying to recruit females that they have ended up not recruiting many people at all.

He didn't say anything about them being more interested in ‘diversity’ rainbow politics and gender bending than they are in defending Australia, but that is also true.

All we can do is hope like hell that we are never attacked, because not just Labor, but the Coalition too, have neglected our defence for too long.

Non-military compulsory projects would not be acceptable to voters either, and it would achieve nothing. You only have to look at our lax judiciary, no discipline in schools, no punishment for anything but the most serious crimes, to know people will not tolerate such out-of-date measures. There would be riots.

you believe in forcing a selected section of the population to do what neither of us was forced to do, and I don't.
ttbn,
I'm forced to contribute to supporting people who won't move a finger for me. Is it too much to ask them to at least take the offer to learn ?

I agree generally with what ttbn has said. One thing to consider is the cost, the last I seen was some years back, $60k per enlisted person plus wages etc. Today its not a big army but a high tech defence force with skilled personnel, that wins the day.

As for conscription during the Vietnam War the sons of the elite, never went to war, deferments and pulling of strings is what happened. In America, "recruitment" of blacks, Hispanics and poor whites from the lower Socio-economic class are militarised. With that, America spends billions.

Paul1405,
I agree with you on that but that's not conscription doing it, it's people of the type who would never lift a finger to help themselves. Much like those who are against the slightest discipline.
As you would have noticed by now, my push for a National Service has no relation to military Service.
Conscription will happen whenever the need arises to defend like it or not. It is not a choice !
Aggression needs to be countered, no fancy, wishful ideology can avoid that. What Australians should think of is how to defend this nation. I for one don't believe in huge money-wasting Navy/Air Force. Coast-based missile stations would be much more effective. No need for risky rescues, massive fuel requirements, man power, no difficult logistics. etc etc. Simply point & shoot at whatever is heading this way without permission from this island. However, do do that we'd need people with discipline & a sense of responsibility & a NS will instil the mentality needed.

Conscripts? Struth, what a massive misunderstanding of current military thinking. Australia doesn't need conscripts. Virtually no nation on earth that isn't called Russia or Ukraine does need it.e. And no democratic nation would/should even consider it.

Talk such as "If China were to invade us" is ridiculous. China no more wants to invade Australia as Japan did in 1941. Never going to happen, at least not in the lifetimes of anyone alive today.

I put the chances of war with China at less than 5% this year (maybe 10% if the polls move decisively toward Trump), 0% if Trump wins and 20% in a second Biden presidency, but closer to 50% by 2035.

But such a war won't be fought in Australia. It'll be fought in the South China Sea. Australia's primary roll will be to close the Malacca Straits to all Chinese shipping, hence our purchase of medium range missiles and enhanced subs.

We don't need conscripts for any of that.

If the aim is to instil some discipline in 18-30 year olds, then good luck. Ain't gunna happen and even it were worth the effort, there are much better ways of achieving it. Society currently rewards and enables feckless teens and young adults. Withdraw the rewards and all else falls into place.