Defence says Rio Olympics sparked recruitment rush

EXCLUSIVE: ADF numbers have been bolstered with a massive spike in indigenous Australians willing to fight under our flag.

See Yourself in the ADF — the Defence Jobs Australia campaign drew a spike in the recruitment of indigenous Australians.

EXCLUSIVE

THE Australian Defence Department has struck gold in the recruitment of indigenous Diggers and it’s blaming it on Rio.

Internal ADF figures has revealed a 200 per cent leap in indigenous Australians signing up to join the permanent military.

Figures for indigenous recruitment have risen from 2 per cent in 2016 calender year, to 7.5 per cent of all ADF recruitment so far in this 2016/17 financial year.

Last year the ADF recruited 5500 people — of these about 100 were indigenous.

Eight months into this financial year, indigenous recruitment is more than 350.

The number of indigenous Australians entering the ADF has jumped dramatically. Picture: Supplied

The revelation comes amid a lingering national debate over Australia Day, seen by some as a day marking an “invasion” and not respecting indigenous people.

Boxer Anthony Mundine added to the debate, declaring that the Australian flag and national anthem were divisive and meant nothing to all “first-nation people” as he controversially vowed to never stand or respect either symbol.

But clearly the symbolism of fighting under the flag and doing something for the broader nation means something to many of the young indigenous men and women who were inspired to join the ADF.

According to internal ADF analysis, the only reason placed on the dramatic leap in indigenous interest was a targeted TV advertising campaign tailored to recruit indigenous people played during the Rio Olympics last August.

The campaign ran during the Rio Olympics and was very successful in the ADF’s recruitment drive. Picture: Supplied

The Defence Department confirmed the Rio ads were the main source listed for the recruitment success but declined to elaborate why.

The series of simple commercials showed shaky-camera style real-life training scenarios in all three armed services with the tag line “see yourself”.

The targeted TV campaign during the showing of the Olympics was backed by an online and social media campaign broadcasting the same footage as well as offers for pre-recruitment courses to give potential members of the leadership and other skills taught.

Just where the new recruits were coming from was not detailed but Defence Personnel Minister Dan Tehan said it was from all states not just the Top End, which has a higher proportion of indigenous personnel already.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Defence Personnel, Dan Tehan, said the recruitment drew new members from all around Australia, not just the Top End. Picture: Supplied

Mr Tehan said the “significant jump” was a great outcome for the diversity of the ADF and followed a proud tradition dating back more than 100 years.

“Estimates put the total number of indigenous men to enlist in the First World War at between 1000 and 1200,” he told News Corp Australia.

He added the success of indigenous careers was bolstered by programs now running throughout Defence for indigenous recruits but also cultural awareness and promotion of indigenous events promoted broadly through the ADF.

“Defence are now able to better cater for indigenous development needs by providing more pre-recruit educational programs in 2017 and beyond,” he said.

“These programs will prepare more indigenous Australians for a career in the ADF … such as mentoring and leadership programs which are all important retention measures.”

Originally published as Defence says Rio Olympics sparked recruitment rush