We congratulate our community, which came out in force last week to ask why Australia was burying its Taipan helicopters instead of sending them to Ukraine to conduct medical evacuations.
Rallies were held in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Hobart, securing strong media coverage. Letters to the Editor were published from community members. Stefan Romaniw, AFUO Co-Chair, was quoted and interviewed extensively: see here https://afuo.org.au/media/in-the-news/
In our advocacy, we were joined by defence experts, commentators and State and Federal Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum.
All major news platforms picked up the story, with a wide-spread view the decision was flawed and raised many questions.
Our community was profoundly disappointed last Friday when the Government formally rejected the request from Ukraine. We maintain this was a missed opportunity — Australia could have sent the Taipans to Ukraine and helped save precious lives.
The AFUO backs public calls for an inquiry, particularly after the revelation this week that the Government had been informed of Ukraine’s needs as early as mid-October.
The AFUO and the community will also continue to press the Government to urgently send additional military aid and support to Ukraine. Ukraine has many needs, including for offensive capabilities, demining and medevac equipment, coal, reconstruction, and rehabilitation.
#AFUO_In_Action
#AFUO
#StandWithUkraine
#FreeTheTaipans
