Aust is huge and if you don't have external fuel tanks it has limited range(no we don't have enough of the refueling air craft we need to support any more than 2 missions at time if that) and without external weapons carriage it can only carry a limited loadout all this means that it's stealth is negated,also from the rear it has no true stealth. As an air defence fighter yes it can do the job if it's not carrying air to ground weapons and doesn't have far to go. All of this means even tho it is a multirole aircraft it can't do both jobs at the same time. Without air serperiority it can only do limited roles this means we need a whole lot more of them to cover air defence and ground attack. With a limited no of F-22's we can gain control of the air and carry out ground attacks on day 1 and then the F-35 can use all of its many abilitys. We already identified the need for an air defence fighter when we ordered the JSF and the only current aircraft to do this is the F-22.
I think you would benefit from a thorough reading of the F35 thread as there are quite a few misconceptions in the above. For instance:
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The RAAF neither seeks nor needs to be able to cover Australia's entire airspace with fighter aircraft at all times. We have systems such as Vigilare, JORN and Wedgetail (ie. our ISR network) to ensure that they can be directed to where they are needed at the right time. That said I have no idea as to what air threat you have in mind.
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The F35's range is actually one of its strengths - last time I checked the combat radius of the F35A was actually marginally better than the F22's, and substantially superior to that of the aircraft it will replace in the RAAF - the F/A18A/B.
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The F35 is not confined to performing just one role during a given sortie by its internal bays. In its
present form it is true that it carries a maximum of 4 AMRAAMs internally, or 2 AMRAAMS along with 2 large air to ground munitions (GBU31, JSOW, JSM, whatever). By Block 4, however, the AMRAAM capacity will grow to 6, with the planned implementation of weapons like SACM and SDB allowing that figure to grow even further.
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The F35 does not lack "true stealth" from the rear quarter - this is a myth I first saw peddled by Carlo Kopp, an individual with a less than stellar track record for accurately representing this particular aircraft. The F35's exhaust nozzle, for example, is recessed as an IR signature reduction measure and to my knowledge derives its design from the LOAN program of the mid to late 90's. Some people seem to see the vaguely round nozzle and assume it indicates a lack of low observability. This is not the case.
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The F22 is not and never was a viable alternative for the RAAF. There are other posters who would know the exact details better than I do but, suffice it to say, it's a prohibitively expensive jet for an airforce like the RAAF. Combine that with the fact that its air to ground functionality is and shall remain extremely limited compared to the F35's and you start to see why the RAAF never so much as pursued it.
Even if the F22 had been for sale (which it wasn't at the time and isn't now), I strongly suspect you'd still have seen the RAAF go in the same direction (F35 one for one with classic Hornets). AIR6000 did NOT call for a specialist air defence/superiority aircraft like the F22 at any point.
