MovieChat Forums > Tomorrow, When the War Began (2012) Discussion > Invasion of Australia?

Invasion of Australia?

posted 11 years ago by Edohiguma
18 replies | jump to latest

Who would do that? China doesn't want kangaroos or koalas. And they have enough sand in their own deserts as it is.

So why would China invade Australia? Because some crappy author thought it would make a good plot for yet another garbage "young adult" novel series?

As much as I find Red Dawn to be utterly retarded, at least the scenario of someone trying to attack the US during the Cold War (yes, the original Red Dawn, the remake is a pile of horse manure, go figure) is a bit more realistic than anyone with a right mind trying to invade and occupy the Aussies.

[–] tobyrclark 11 years ago

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Headscratchers/TheTomorrowSeries Scroll down to "The Premise".

Incidentally, have you even read the books by John Marsden?

The Angels Have the Phone Box

[–] rdarnell-1 11 years ago

How about :mineral wealth. From Wikipedia.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining_in_Australia

Large quantities of minerals and resources are extracted in Australia. These include:
Iron ore – Australia was the world's third largest supplier in 2008 after China and Brazil, supplying 342 million metric tonnes.[7]
Nickel – Australia was the world's second largest producer in 2006 after Russia.[8]
Bauxite/aluminium - Australia was the world's largest producer in 2011.[9]
Copper
Gold – Australia is the second largest producer after China.[10]
Silver
Uranium – Australia is responsible for 11% of the world's production and was the world's third largest producer in 2010 after Kazakhstan and Canada.[11]
Diamond – Australia has the third largest commercially-viable deposits after Russia and Botswana.[citation needed] Australia also boasts the richest diamantiferous pipe with production reaching peak levels of 42 metric tons (41 LT/46 ST) per year in the 1990s.[citation needed]
Opal – Australia is the world's largest producer of opal, being responsible for 95% of production.[12]
Zinc – Australia was second only to China in zinc production in 2008, producing just under 14% of world production.[13]
Coal – Australia is the world's largest exporter of coal and fourth largest producer of coal behind China, USA and India.[14]
Oil shale
Petroleum – Australia is the twenty-eighth largest producer of petroleum.[citation needed]
Natural gas - Australia is world's third largest producer of LNG and forecast to be world leader by 2020.
Rare earth elements

Much of the raw material mined in Australia is exported overseas to countries such as China for processing into refined product. Energy and minerals constitute two thirds of Australia's total exports to China, and more than half of Australia's iron ore exports are to China.

Or maybe oil. :http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/austr alia/9822955/Trillions-of-dollars-worth-of-oil-found-in-Australian-out back.html

Trillions of dollars worth of oil found in Australian outback
Up to 233 billion barrels of oil has been discovered in the Australian outback that could be worth trillions of dollars, in a find that could turn the region into a new Saudi Arabia.

Just for starters.
Really dumb to try to take a country with all that.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] rdarnell-1 10 years ago

I don't wish to insult your intelligence but since this film has no "science" in it we are left with the "fiction" part thus this is a work of fiction and not fact.
I disagree with you about the OP having a point. As pointed out above, Australia's mineral wealth alone, not counting all the viable living space would make it well worth invading. If you watch the film and discount current world situation or history like im sure you would with a lot of other films then it becomes acceptable. For instance Glaiator isn't 100% historically acurate, nor Bravehart (giggle) or The Hunt For Red October. The Sum of All Fears features Baltimore being destroyed by an atomic bomb, do you say this makes no sense bacause it hasn't happened? It couldn't happen, it may happen, it has happend, just not in this universe. It is called suspension of belief. It is a film just showing,"what if"?

[–] shazzboy 9 years ago

Australia is filthy rich with enormous mineral and agricultural wealth. Entire regional wars have been fought over less.

Also I find it amusing that the rest of the world thinks this movie is about China invading. It is clear from any Australian that it is directed at Indonesia. Australians are not concerned about China. We are extremely concerned about Indonesia.

[–] spookyrat1 9 years ago

It is clear from any Australian that it is directed at Indonesia.

Don't know if it still does, but the Australian army used to regularly fight a war games enemy from the north called Kamaria, a thinly disguised pseudonym for Indonesia.🐭

[–] goatman86 9 years ago

Also I find it amusing that the rest of the world thinks this movie is about China invading. It is clear from any Australian that it is directed at Indonesia. Australians are not concerned about China. We are extremely concerned about Indonesia.

The film mentions an invading "coalition" so it would be a cluster of nations no doubt Indonesia included but keep in mind the 3 jets that shot down the hornet are actually Chinese, the vfx artists don't include insignia on them but they are J-10s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjCxqftHSc4

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengdu_J-10

[–] rdarnell-1 9 years ago

I wont argue with you about the jets but would remind you that "Built in <insert country>" does not mean used by that country.
As bakers or suppliers of equipment China would be invaluable. Of course those planes could be flown by Chinese "advisers" such as those flown by Russia in Korea.
We will never know though.

[–] goatman86 9 years ago

For the most part, but many nations don't export certain types of planes, take the F-22 Raptor for example.

Also they are making a tv series based on the books now, so it will be interesting how they portay them, the only thing I have seen is this shot

http://www.tomorrow-series.eu/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=6368&fullsize=1

[–] rdarnell-1 9 years ago

Wow, what an interesting mix. A WW2 Willys Jeep mixed with modern uniforms. Don't think they quite thought too deeply when deciding on the camo scheme. The seats stick out as well. Couldn't see what rifle was being used but from what I've seen looking at the other photos on that site I'm quite pleased.

[–] goatman86 9 years ago

I think they are really trying to make the enemy as generic as possible, hence the old jeeps and the swat looking uniforms. It does work with the story, The plot also seems to go away from the books and focus on the parents of the kids too which I think will be interesting.

[–] rdarnell-1 9 years ago

As they should be. After all we don't know who the enemy is, just their motivations. I hope the series doesn't stray from the book's content too far. What drew me to starting and then finishing the first and then all the subsequent books was that the story was told as Ellie saw it. Showing it/telling it any other way would be removing the essence of the story. You live the book through her eyes. If that makes sense?

[–] goatman86 9 years ago

I hope the series doesn't stray from the book's content too far.

Some more photos last night, this one is interesting and I remember in the book it mentions 2 shop up police cars in the main street, also interesting choice of vehicle by the invaders here.

http://www.tomorrow-series.eu/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=6454&fullsize=1

[–] rdarnell-1 9 years ago

They definitely have a limited budget. That's an old British Army "Pig" armoured car. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humber_Pig
Notice the ATV's at the back? It'll be interesting to see what they do when it comes to the helicopter at Corrie's house.
Continue the conversation on the TWTWB Series page?

[–] gottfrid 9 years ago

honestly, by the look of the chicks in this film, i might be considering invading the place myself!!!!

"It doesnt matter what Bram Stoker has told you... dead people don't come back from their graves"

[–] Fusion72 9 years ago

Isolated land.

[–] raf-33 8 years ago

As much as I find Red Dawn to be utterly retarded, at least the scenario of someone trying to attack the US during the Cold War (yes, the original Red Dawn, the remake is a pile of horse manure, go figure) is a bit more realistic than anyone with a right mind trying to invade and occupy the Aussies.

Clearly you know nothing of strategy, because the Japanese wanted to do just that. Take Australia out of the picture because despite being NATO's strongest ally in the region they are also an entire continent of resources with a similar population to the Netherlands.

It's obvious that whomever controls or calls Australia an ally gets an enormous advantage in both the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived. -Isaac Asimov

[–] Bajoran99 8 years ago

As others have said, there is vast mineral and agricultural wealth. Not to mention living space.

Also, Australia is in a vulnerable location. A relatively tiny population of 24 million people trying to defend a huge land mass would make stopping an invasion virtually impossible.

Australia's major strategic partner is the UK, so they would be obliged to provide military assistance, but the UK would also need to coerce the US to make any liberation of Australia from a Chinese-led coalition credible.