Should Australia start to depend on United States for its defences and other things, or should Australia be building up its independant strengths.

With our small population, it would not matter what our defense capabilities were. It certainly will be a good idea to have an american presents here. We live in an asian dominated part of the world, like Israel lives in an Arab world. It was not long ago all of our defense was based in the south, may be an invasion from Tas was the problem.
We should be building our own equipment. The bushmaster is built here and quite often tours around town. No reason why tanks can not be built here.

Rely on our own strengths and act independently- thus we get to avoid the mess of participating in wars in the Middle East and then signing ourselves as obligated to rebuild the country, station soldiers to get shot at, be responsible for their refugee problems and put on terrorist hit-lists and ensure countries suspicious of the USA will also be suspicious of ourselves and make us the first target they go for if the USA invades:

All because China and Indonesia are, apparently plotting to invade us- despite doing so would substantially harm their import and export marketing and logistical businesses.

Because they're jealous, apparently (ignoring Indonesia is a series of very large tropical islands with prime farmland, and China is not only much larger landmass than Australia, but has a smaller ratio of desert within it than we do).

australias strength is
only those who live here can hold it

any invasion force would be so sepperated by distance
so vulnerable by sea air and land..

as to not be able to support a reason for invasion for very long

we see what a simple flood does to this continent
take out a few bridges and let it rain

its absurd to spend a lot on defence
no one could hold it for long

It would be cheaper, better & more effective overall if Australia just paid America on a contract basis in the event of conflict. With the money left over due to no wastage we could provide thousands of apprenticeships & within two or three years we'd see a marked improvement in mentality/society.

Should we just buy some nuclear weapons or technology OUG, and tell the Yanks
to mind their own business ?.

We probably should have done so, during the arms race. 30 to 50 years or so ago.
Naturally we would have been making a lot more of our own decisions by now.

You have to consider this, when a place the size of Australia is up to defend. There is no way our defence force would ever realistically be able to defend all of our territory/coastline, if someone did attack us.

Currently our troops are engaged in other peoples conflicts and politics, instead of defending our shores, as part of international forces of occupation, not here defending us if we were attacked anyway.

I also believe that it is not entirely clear that "in any world circumstance", the U.S. Alliance is an absolute certainty for Australia, instead believing that the U.S. would act in it's own perceived best interests at all times, in reality.