And to me conscription for local service is the way to get around it. Define PNG and the Solomons as local service in the 30s. Then build low tech hard nut garrison forces that can go all Japanese and make islands like Truk not worth the effort. Yeah, sure they will get overwhelmed, but amphibious invasion is hard so they should give a good account of themselves and hopefully act as a deterrent. You still have to play Singapore as the main game but that is for regulars. Who would be silly enough to invade PNG?
I like the idea of forming a couple of rapidly mobilize equivalents to the USMC Base Defense Force equipped with integral AA, Arty, AT, signal, engineering, and a couple of older tanks (Vickers six tons or FT 17s picked up dirt cheap) less to act as tanks and more to act as slightly mobile pill boxes.
The idea is to be able to rapidly reinforce and fortify some of those small island possessions. Yes they can't really hope to actually win against the Japanese but they can buy time and chew the IJN Special Landing Force troops up. Hopefully fuck up the Japanese time table. A lot of those troops and ships had to be involved in multiple different operations in a short period of time. None of the gear has to be ultra modern. For the most part cheap as dirt WW1 surplus will do the job. I'm thinking purchasing some of those 37mm WW1 "Trench Guns" and improvising either a carry pole mounting or a wheeled carriage. They're dirt cheap in the 20's/30's and can be used to tear up Japanese landing craft. While their AP capability was extremely limited I think that they might actually be able to handle most Japanese tanks they would conceivably face.
My god how is the treaty holding up what with the Covid travel restrictions?
And this of course explains why it took so long to build the railway line into the Northern Territories and why it was not really viable in the 1930s as the workers had to spend most of their time standing on one leg with a spear pointing upwards in order to survive - makes it very hard to move about and dig stuff etc
They started giving out prizes awarding "One free all expense paid tour of wonderful scenic Australia" to random Americans in the mail. Those who accept are then whisked out to the "sacrifice grounds" in sealed planes and buses. Absolutely no risk of infection to any Australians and the Dark Pact gets maintained.
Could a Oz-Emu alliance defeat the Drop Bears? After all the Emus alone defeated the OZ Army IOTL. If that brings the Drop Bears to the negotiating table then an Emu/Drop Bear/Oz Alliance Army could defeat any invader with ease.
They've tried that a few times. The Emu's responded to the diplomatic overtures by simultaneously gutting and castrating the diplomatic envoys with their wicked sharp claws.
Emu's are just too psychopathic and sadistic to ever form any sort of alliance with anything ever. The best bet the Australians have is to just hide in their caves and just kind of hope the Emu's and the Drop bears wipe out each other. If the Aussies ever start their own nuclear program then we know they've become truly desperate and are acting on their final "Fuck it let's nuke those furry bastards" plan. Their last attempt at going with biological warfare somehow created something called "Super Duper Syphilis".