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Contents.

Amberley Air Tattoo

Defence, in partnership with the Ipswich City Council, will host the Ipswich Amberley Air Tattoo (Air Tattoo) over the weekend of 29^th and 30^th October 2022.

The Air Tattoo will be held at Amberley, with the event opening at 9am and closing at 4pm on both days. RAAF Base Amberley has a long association with the City of Ipswich with the base first commencing operations on 17 June 1940 during the Second World War.

The Air Tattoo will be an exhilarating aviation experience giving people a rare insight into the people, aircraft and military capabilities that call Amberley home. It is also a great opportunity for Defence to thank the people of Ipswich and surrounding communities for their support to RAAF Base Amberley and the Australian Defence Force members who serve there.

Air Force aircraft will conduct flying displays and flypasts over the Base during this two day event. Aircraft will also be on static display on the ground as well as a range of military equipment being on display showcasing the capabilities of a number of Australian Defence Force units and squadrons.

Tickets for the event have sold out and no further tickets will be available at the event. Please note: No Ticket = No Entry (except for those 5 years and under accompanied by a ticket holder).

Details on parking at Amberley can be found HERE.  The main arrival routes are via the Cunningham Highway and Southern Amberley Road to enter via the RAAF Base Amberley ‘Front Gate’, or via Ipswich West and Behms Road to enter via the RAAF Base Amberley ‘Back Gate’.

There will be no public access via the Rosewood Road Gate or ‘Contractors Gate’. Taxi and ride-share drop-off and pick-up is at the Front Gate only. There will be shuttle bus transfers to and from the main event area. There are no public transport options, except for Taxi/Ride Share.

For those who missed out on tickets to RAAF Amberley, there will be free Viewing Hubs to see flypasts by most of Air Tattoo aircraft on both Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th October. The Viewing Hubs are at Ipswich Central (Bremer River/Football Grounds), Springfield Central Sports Complex and Rosewood ANZAC Park.

Further details on the Viewing Hubs, timings and routings can be found HERE.

The Invisible Trauma

Dave Morgan got in touch, he said:  My name is Dave Morgan a ex Army Vietnam veteran.  I worked at Amberley RAAF base from 1978 to 1981 as a Technical Officer Observer with the Bureau of Meteorology. (Chapter15 within the book) 

I have written a book on PTSD 'The Invisible Trauma' together with four medical Doctors, also a number of veterans (including a RAAF Vietnam veteran) and their stories, plus my family, all contributing to the book.  Adverse psychological effects resulting from war have been known for many years and labels such as Shell Shock or Battle Fatigue were applied, however since the Vietnam experience and subsequent research, those adverse psychological effects are now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Is it possible to publish information on this book in your Monthly magazine for our veteran community.

The book was released on the 6th of June and can be purchased online or at all major book retailers including Big W.

Fifty percent of my royalties go to Legacy Australia which support veteran's families.

Platypus Charity.

Bob Greer got in touch, he said:  “I founded and currently chair a charity that operates in Vietnam. A couple of things have come up that may be of interest to your members, hence this email.

We are a Vietnam charity the supports poor families in keeping their children at school as education is such a big deal in Vietnam and is growing in importance as the country industrialises. You will no doubt be aware that Vietnam has almost 4 times our population on territory roughly 40% the size on NSW so pastoral land is not available to many. We have 110 children at school in Ha Giang Province in the far NW along the China border and 100 more in Quang Nam Province near Danang, close to the Laos border. About 75% of our students are from ethnic minorities such as Hmong, Dao, Nung, Kor and Kadong and 75% are female although as an Australian organisation we do not discriminate along gender lines.

We do micro-banking to help older folk and run a pig-gifting scheme and a few other things when funds permit.

Fundraising is always a challenge but we run motorcycle tours around Vietnam (mainly the north) and Laos and the 12 runs since 2012 have been pretty successful. We propose running a very different ride this year that starts in Hoi An, crosses into Laos for a few days and then heads back into VN before taking in Long Tan where we will pay our respects at the memorial. I hear rumours of a few Diggers now living in the area and we will look into that but any sort of meeting probably lies in the future. It will be a marvellous run and an eye-opener for most people. There will be a back-up vehicle, a lead rider from Hanoi and a Platypus rider from Perth as well as support from our ride partners from Hanoi.

Click HERE for info on the run.

There are a couple more items; prospective riders must have a valid Australian motorcycle rider licence and there is also a donation of AUD$500 to Platypus as we do not profit from the ride itself. We can provide plenty of references as to the quality of the rides and I would be delighted to take calls on 0421 633 145 (or via email  info@platypus-charity.org) from any interested people.

We would welcome your support in any way and look forward to seeing a few Diggers riding with us along the back roads. We have a WEBSITE that may be of interest to your members."

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.

You have to listen to this lady, she said:

“What’s the point of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament when Parliament won’t even listen to the Indigenous voices it has? Why do we have to keep going on and on, explaining to a white fella from Marrickville that Indigenous Australians don’t need ANOTHER Indigenous voice in parliament, we need you to listen to the voices Australians have already sent there.

It’s clear though, Albo doesn’t want to hear the voices of Indigenous people, he wants to hear the voice of his own Indigenous mates. He only wants to hear the voices of people with one hand patting him on the back and the other stretched out for cash. If he wanted to do something to actually help vulnerable Indigenous people, he wouldn’t create more bloody bureaucracy filled with the voices of inner-city lefties.

He wouldn’t pitch an ill-defined and divisive constitutional change.

He wouldn’t put up a “simple” question in bad faith.

He may as well be asking, “are you going to let me do what I want or are you a racist?”

Disgusting.

He wants more government control and some social credits for all his “hard work” giving Indigenous people a voice.  We don’t need you to give us a voice mate, we have a voice. Many Australians of all backgrounds have worked hard with indigenous people to help improve lives, to give a good education, to help create jobs and livelihoods that reduce dependence and help all Australians stand on their own two feet.

We have our own voices – you’re just not listening to them.

The Australian people, without any mandate, already elected eleven indigenous voices to parliament. Don’t mandate more, listen to the representation we already have.

Albo – put your Akubra back on the hat rack, pull your finger out and get on with addressing the real problems. Address the cost of living, address the energy crisis, get to work fixing the problems of homelessness, alcoholism, domestic violence, drug addiction and fatherlessness that actually hurt Australians.

Don’t waste all of our time virtue signalling your way into guest spots on TV game shows. Man up. Listen to our voices. Get to work”.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price

Senator for the Northern Territory

Jazz in the Hangar.

If you’re into Jazz or just like listening to live music and you’re free on Sunday 30^th October, then you should head to Jazz in the Hangar which will be held at the Caloundra Air Museum (Pathfinder Drive, Caloundra West). The featured artists will be the Scream Jazz Orchestra. This traditional 18-piece Big Band plays a variety of swing era and jazz music as well as more contemporary numbers and have been invited to perform for this, the inaugural Jazz in the Hangar concert.

The Band mostly consists of retired Servicemen who have served in various arms of the Defence Force and are now professional, semi-professional and teachers who chose to get together on the Sunshine Coast to form this band.

This is an event not to be missed.

See HERE for the flier.

Veterans ID Card.

Remember all the hullabaloo about the Veteran Card and Pin and the Veteran’s Covenant that was trotted out some time ago? What did it achieve? 

If you said “bugger all!” I would tend to agree with you. Just try and use it to get onto a RAAF Base and see how far you get.

The UK has a system very similar, or perhaps even a bit better than ours that perhaps could be adopted here. See below:

The Veterans’ recognition scheme (also known as the Veterans ID Card) has a two-phase rollout. Phase one is complete, with Service leavers receiving a recognition card as part of the discharge process since 2019. If you have discharged and not received your card within your service leavers pack, please contact 0800 085 3600 or your old unit directly. Unfortunately, if you have already received your recognition card and since lost it, changed name or need to change any details on it there is no current process in place to replicate or reproduce cards at this stage.

Phase two will enable existing veterans to more quickly, easily, and securely prove they served in our Armed Forces so they can access the services they need, through digital means, however, due to the need for future-proofing and safeguarding against fraudulent use, the process for phase two rollout will take longer than anticipated. This Government is committed to making the UK the best place to be a veteran in the world, and we need to ensure this isn’t abused. Please be assured that the absence of a recognition card should not impact a person’s ability to access the services they need as there is a range of documentation that can be used to prove veteran status. No government service, nor any major charity partner that we are aware of, is refusing services to veterans without this form of ID.

The Ministry Of Defence (MOD), including Veterans UK, is working with the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA) within the Cabinet Office to develop an online digital verification tool so that people can prove they served. We are beginning to move this work forward but are unable to announce a delivery date at this point. Information will be released closer to the launch date on the gov.uk website.

True blue, ridgey-didge Ozzies

We heard from an old mate, Thai Dang, he said: “Recently I voted for the first time ever in the Australian Federal Election. I wore a T-shirt with the Australian flag to the polling place and cheered up all the staff. What a proud moment!  Actually I would not have been able to get Australian citizenship without your help. Besides the federal police record I also had to provide a couple of character reference letters to the Immigration office. Several of you were kind enough to help me in writing the letters. They wanted to make sure I deserve the honour.

For that, I would like to express my gratitude for all your help: starting with your protection of our people in Ba-Ria Vung Tau, helping me to find my first English teacher, supporting me while I was fighting with the acute Leukemia, editing my first book, and now citizenship. I believe your mission of rescuing me is completed.

Diamond and I are so proud of our (Australian) politicians. Compared to what we had seen in the US election, every Aussie candidate deserves to have my vote. Last-night losers politely accepted the outcome in grace. No one accused the winner of cheating. And surely, no one started a riot in Canberra!

Thank you and have a great day.

Thai and Diamond”

PS: We had a great opportunity to attend the recent dinner party hosted by the RBWH Foundation. Our Queensland Governess, her Excellency Dr. Jeannette Young met and had her picture taken with us. She only allowed two group photos, we were the second one.

PPS: I've also attached a great reference letter from Trevor, member of RAAF 35 Squadron and Radschool. Good one, Trev!

Amberley Visit.

After competing in the successful Scootaville event which raised $25,000 for Legacy, a few participants returned some borrowed articles to Amberley. While there Evan Cannard, the 35 Sqn WO took time out from his busy day and showed them around the Sqn.

L-R:  John McDougall,  John “Sambo” Sambrooks,  Trev Benneworth,  Selwyn Hill,  Jillian O’Toole.

Both Sel and Jillian are ex-Army – and both are now convinced they joined the wrong service.

Don’t say we don’t tell you important stuff:

The punctuation marks known as the em dash (—) and the en dash (–) derive their name from typesetting, because the em dash was the same width as an uppercase M and the en dash was the same width as an uppercase N.

RAF Tornado lands at the Aviation Museum in Perth.

Click the pic to get a bigger view.

‘The siren has sounded’: Scientists pinpoint COVID’s origin

August 2, 2022

Since the emergence of COVID-19, a question has obsessed many: where did it come from? That question – and the fact the virus was first detected in the city of Wuhan, home of the Wuhan Institute of Virology – has sparked geopolitical convulsions and a fracturing of faith in science, not to mention a thousand anonymous Twitter-sleuth accounts.

People love a conspiracy theory, especially one playing out in real time on social media. Meanwhile, a group of scientists has been working on their own parallel investigative effort. With a pair of articles published in Science last week (you can read them here and here), they say they are at the end of their search.

The virus almost-certainly jumped from wildlife into humans in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, the papers argue. The authors have even found the most likely section of the market. They have old photos of caged raccoon dogs – known carriers of COVID-19 – being sold there. “The siren has definitely sounded on the lab leak theory,” says Professor Edward Holmes, a world-leading viral evolution expert based at the University of Sydney and co-author on both the papers. “In terms of what we can reasonably do, with the available science and the science we’ll get in the foreseeable future, I think we’re at the end of the road frankly.

There’s not a lot more to mine.”

Professor Dominic Dwyer, director of public health pathology in NSW and a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) team that travelled to Wuhan last year to investigate the origins of the virus, agrees. “That’s what we thought originally back when we did the first report. This is yet another brick added to the wall of information around zoonotic infection.”

Twin strains

When COVID-19 first emerged in Wuhan, two distinct viral lineages were spotted, separated by two small changes in genetic code. They were detected a week apart in late December 2019. The team behind the Science papers used computers to simulate the most likely sequence of events that would produce two viruses circulating at the same time. They found it is exceedingly unlikely that a single virus would jump into humans and quickly split into two distinct variants.

Far more likely, was that the virus had been circulating in animals for long enough to split into multiple variants, two of which then jumped separately into humans. Multi-virus jumps have been seen when COVID-19 jumped from minks on Dutch farms to humans, and when SARS and MERS also jumped into humans.

If the COVID-19 virus originated in a lab, as some conspiracy theories suggest, you’d expect a single introduction into humans – rather than two distinct viral lineages and both strains were found in samples taken from Huanan market. “That, I think, is pretty good evidence,” says Dwyer.

The Huanan Market

Two-thirds of early hospitalised cases had a link to the market. Lab-leak advocates argue that Huanan is a perfect super-spreader site. Maybe a scientist from the Wuhan Institute of Virology shopped there and spread the bug? The Science papers show that 155 COVID cases in December 2019 were strongly clustered in the suburbs around the market – including cases with no known link to the market.

If the virus emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, wouldn’t early cases cluster around there? Wouldn’t an infected scientist have passed on the virus while walking to work? “You wouldn’t expect to find the virus around a not-very-well-visited animal market in a different part of the city,” says Holmes “and the papers show Huanan is hardly the perfect superspreader site that some suggest.”

It turns out the market is a small and relatively obscure shopping spot. By reviewing social media check-in data, the team deduced that 70 other markets in Wuhan had more visitors than Huanan. Of 430 identified possible super-spreader sites in Wuhan, such as shopping malls, supermarkets and schools, the Huanan market was among the least visited.

“It’s like going to Coles in Bendigo on a wet Wednesday afternoon. It’s not a thriving mass of humanity,” says Holmes.

Further evidence: no COVID-19 has been detected among tens of thousands of blood donations made in Wuhan between September and December 2019, nor in thousands of samples taken from people hospitalised between October and December with influenza-like illnesses.

“What are the odds that two lineages escape from the lab and both make their way into the market and both cause superspreader events? It’s ridiculous. There is no way that can happen,” says Holmes.

Ground zero

Using Chinese and WHO data along with public online maps, business registries, photos and official reports, the scientists reconstructed a map of the Huanan market. This map shows the west side of the market. Each black dot represents a human case. Triangles mark stalls selling live animals or unknown meat.

Coloured boxes mark the number of times Chinese investigators detected COVID-19 on environmental samples in late 2019 (by the time they arrived, the market had been shut down and disinfected, and there were no live animals left to test).

On the far left, marked by the dotted line, is the market’s wildlife section. The Chinese found COVID-19 all over it. Eight of the earliest human cases linked to the market worked nearby. The red box marks a stall where COVID-19 was found on a metal cage, a machine for removing hair and feathers from animals, two carts used for moving cages, a nearby water drain and on the ground.

Ironically, Holmes had visited that same stall on a trip to Wuhan in 2014 – and snapped a photo of caged raccoon dogs stacked on top of caged birds. “We can’t prove it is this exact stall but the data is very suggestive,” he says.

We know now that COVID-19 moves easily among many species of animals, including raccoon dogs – but also badgers, hares, rats and foxes, all observed being sold live at the market in 2019. Raccoon dogs were supplied to the market by a network of farms in western Hubei province, the Science papers note. Western Hubei is known for its extensive network of caves filled with Rhinolophus bats, which carry coronaviruses similar to the one that causes COVID-19.

“Raccoon dogs are a suspect,” says Holmes, but not the only one. “I think, strongly, there are a whole bunch of animals out there who have viruses like this that we have not sampled yet.”

Compare the theories

Theory one: Two closely related versions of a virus emerge at the same time in people who live near or work in a small market selling wildlife. The market sells animals known to both carry the virus and to be farmed near bats that carry similar viruses. We detect those viruses on cages in the market’s wildlife section.

We know from past experience viruses can jump from animals to humans at wildlife markets. And we don’t have any evidence of the virus spreading anywhere else in Wuhan before it was in the market. Compare this to the lab-leak theory. No one has ever been able to prove COVID-19 – let alone a twin strain – was ever at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. There’s no epidemiological evidence that the virus was spreading near the institute. “There’s no emails. There’s no evidence in any of the science. There’s absolutely nothing,” says Holmes.

Lab-leak proponents have now turned to trying to find malfeasance in the articles’ peer review process, of all places. Holmes doubts the conspiracy theorists will ever be convinced. “Even if the Chinese do let us in the lab, people would say ‘aha, but they’re covering it up’,” he says.

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