Month: January 2022

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will deploy aircraft and personnel to Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, to conduct Exercise Cope North 22 with the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Koku-Jieitai) from 2 to 18 February, 2022.
The trilateral exercise is focused on increased interoperability of the RAAF, USAF and Koku-Jieitai, through combined tactics, techniques and procedures for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations and Large Force Employment.
The RAAF Task Unit Commander, Group Captain Andrew McHugh, said Cope North 22 will be an excellent opportunity to further enhance interoperability between the tri-lateral forces.
“We are very pleased to be heading back to Guam for Cope North 22 which will provide invaluable experience for our personnel and enhances the effectiveness of the RAAF,” Group Captain McHugh said.
“Through Cope North 22, we are focused on deepening relationships and strengthening engagement with the USAF’s Pacific Air Force and the Koku-Jieitai, to contribute to our shared vision of an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific.”
The RAAF will deploy the E-7A Wedgetail, C-27J Spartan, KC-30A multi role tanker transport and F-35A Lightning II, alongside a contingency response squadron focused on HADR training.
“Cope North 22 will enhance the tri-lateral forces’ capability for HADR in the Indo-Pacific, ensuring a highly effective and professional response, when needed,” Group Captain McHugh said.
“We are committed to developing an intelligent and skilled workforce with exercises such as Cope North providing the opportunity to operate as a combined force with the United States and the Japan, and ensure our people can deliver air power when required.”
Exercises remain critical to preparedness of the Australian Defence Force. RAAF personnel deploying for Exercise Cope North 22 have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 prior to their departure and will comply with all directions as required.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is supporting the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)-led effort to support the Government of Tonga following the eruption of Tonga’s Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano on 15 January.
The ADF contribution, named Operation TONGA ASSIST 22, includes air reconnaissance using P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, airlift support using C-17A Globemaster III and C-130J Hercules transport aircraft, as well as the deployment of HMAS Adelaide with embarked supplies, helicopters and Army engineer contingent.
HMAS Adelaide docked today, 26 January 2022, in Nuku’alofa harbour to commence delivery of humanitarian assistance to Tonga, in a contactless and COVID-safe manner.
HMAS Adelaide’s Commanding Officer, and commander of the tri-service contingent on board, Captain Stuart Watters spoke about the effort to assist Tonga which can be viewed at the vision link below.

A Labor Government will deliver $440 million to schools for better ventilation, building upgrades, and mental health support, as part of a new plan to help Australian kids bounce back after COVID.
Labor’s plan including the Schools Upgrade Fund and Student Wellbeing Boost will make sure our schools are better prepared, not just for this term but for the future.
The Morrison-Joyce Government doesn’t have a plan for next week, let alone next year. Labor won’t make that mistake.
Schools will be able to access grants from a Schools Upgrade Fund to improve air quality with measures such as better ventilation, building more outdoor classrooms, replacing boarded-up windows and doors and buying air purifiers. Funding will be available for other much needed school upgrades as well.
Parents are worried sick about sending their kids back to school. Scott Morrison’s delays getting a COVID vaccine for young people means many students will be more exposed returning to class.
Because COVID is an airborne disease, experts say better ventilation and cleaner air will reduce transmission and prevent outbreaks. Labor’s plan for ventilation upgrades will help achieve that, protecting our kids, and school staff.
Funding will also be available for school upgrades including new and refurbished school buildings and trades training centres. Making sure our schoolkids have access to terrific facilities will help get their education back on track after all the COVID disruptions. We know it’s been hard for P&Cs to fundraise over the last two years, with the usual sausage sizzles, cakes stalls and fetes cancelled due to the pandemic.
Labor will also provide schools with extra funding to get children’s mental health and wellbeing back on track with a Student Wellbeing Boost. This will mean more school counsellors and psychologists, and extra funding for camps, excursions, as well as sporting and social activities that improve kids’ wellbeing. Labor will also have the education department conduct a rapid review of the impact of COVID on students with disability, so they get the support they need.
Every Australian school will benefit. Labor will work with state and territory governments and school systems to distribute the funding based on need. Schools will get a big say in how to use the extra money to best help their kids. Labor’s plan will also fund a free, expert developed, voluntary mental health check, that schools could choose to use to help quickly identify students who may need extra support.
The past two years have been hard for all Australians. But our kids have suffered a unique loss.
They’ve been robbed of some of the simple joys of growing up – school camps, team sports, playground friendships, and sleepovers.
Remote learning, exam chaos, and now the delays in supplying paediatric vaccines, have turned what should be some of the best years of their lives into a bit of a nightmare.
Many are struggling with their mental wellbeing.
Researchers at the Australian National University found more than 60 per cent of parents said their children’s mental health and wellbeing had gone downhill during COVID. A 2021 Mission Australia Youth Survey found more than 60 per cent of young people said their education had been negatively impacted by COVID.
Labor doesn’t want any Australian child held back because of the pandemic.
When you’re struggling with stress or anxiety, you’re missing out on learning.
Labor’s plan for extra mental health support will help lighten the load for schoolkids and their parents, and get kids’ wellbeing, learning, and development back on track.
We’ve heard nothing from Scott Morrison about a plan to keep our kids COVID-safe at school.
I suppose that shouldn’t surprise us.
This Prime Minister never shows leadership. Every problem is someone else’s fault.
But our kids are paying the price.
Parents know what a big toll COVID is taking on our kids. Labor’s plan is exactly what they need to help them bounce back, at school, and in life.
Today’s announcement builds on Labor’s other plans for education including 20,000 extra university places, 465,000 free TAFE places, and making early learning cheaper for working families.

As a teenager, Dylan Alcott hated being in a wheelchair because he didn’t see anyone like him in mainstream media. Then sport changed everything.
A gold medal at the Paralympic Games in wheelchair basketball preceded three more in Paralympic competition after a cross-code switch to tennis. Now, with 23 quad wheelchair Grand Slam titles and a Newcombe Medal, Dylan Alcott recently became the first male in history, in any form of tennis, to win the Golden Slam.
Amid his training and competition load as a world-class athlete, Dylan notes that his most profound impact has come from beyond the field of play. He founded the Dylan Alcott Foundation to provide scholarships and grant funding to marginalised Australians with a disability.
He also authored his best-selling autobiography, Able, and co-founded Get Skilled Access. Further, Dylan’s AbilityFest is Australia’s first and only inclusive, fully accessible music festival. In realising his childhood dream, Dylan holds several high-profile media roles spanning TV, radio and podcasting.