Wattle Imperium 🇦🇺

Nestory Irankunda becomes the youngest #Socceroos player to score at a #FIFAWorldCup 💚💛 🇦🇺 1-0 🇹🇷

@4mambo Fair question — and an important one. The book does not propose WA simply copying Canberra’s current model or building a large, manpower-heavy conventional force. Instead, Chapter 8 outlines a lean, 21st-century defence posture built around: - Long-range strike (drones and missiles) - Maritime surveillance and patrol vessels - Cyber and electronic warfare capabilities - Layered air and coastal defence systems - Strong strategic alliances and treaties (rather than trying to do everything alone) The modelling shows that a sovereign WA could stand up a credible, modern deterrent capability remarkably quickly — and at a fraction of the cost of trying to replicate the current Australian Defence Force structure. Headline figures from the detailed costing in the book put the initial establishment and first three years of a capable, asymmetric force in the order of A$20–25 billion (phased), with ongoing annual costs significantly lower than WA’s current net contribution to federal defence spending. The full breakdown — including specific platforms, quantities, industrial offsets, and how the force would be structured and funded — is set out in Chapter 8 (“Defence Force: Safeguarding the New Nation”). It’s one of the more detailed sections of the book precisely because we knew this question would be asked.