No plans for Australian ground troops in Syria despite US deployment of special forces By Adam Gartrell The Turnbull government says it has no plans to follow America's lead and put troops on the ground in Syria. 
The Obama administration has given approval for almost 50 special forces troops to be deployed in the latest escalation in the fight against Islamic State militants.
But Finance Minister Mathias Cormann on Saturday said Australia had no plans to follow suit.
"Australia obviously supports international efforts to degrade and ultimately defeat the ISIS threat," he told Sky News.
"Obviously we work closely with the US in that conflict as we do so in many other contexts but at present the Australian government certainly doesn't have any plans to change our involvement."
If that was to change at any stage "down the track" it would be a matter for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his entire cabinet to properly consider and announce, he said.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said no one had made the case for Australian ground troops.
Australian fighter jets carried out its first air strikes on IS targets inside Syria in   September.
But Russia's involvement in the conflict prompted Defence to temporarily halt operations in   October.Australian Strategic Policy Institute head Peter Jennings questioned the wisdom of America's decision and bemoaned the international coalition's lack of a clear strategy to combat IS.
"This small number of troops is just enough to get the US into trouble but not enough to make any useful strategic difference in Syria," he said.
The latest debate came as 300 Australian Defence Force members were formally farewelled in Brisbane bound for Iraq.