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West Australian
16-06-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
East Kimberley leader Ian Trust among Australians caught in Israel-Iran conflict
East Kimberley Aboriginal leader Ian Trust is among a group of prominent Australians who were frantically being evacuated from Israel on Monday as the conflict with Iran escalated rapidly. On Sunday, Wunan chairman and Gija man Mr Trust sheltered in a Tel Aviv bomb shelter with other members of the tour group including Olympian and former politician Nova Peris and media personality Erin Molan as Iranian missiles struck the capital. Ms Peris posted to X that it was, 'extremely frightening and distressing.' 'It's after 2 a.m here in Israel. I'm with 11 other Australians, including several First Nations brothers and sisters. The past 24 hours have been deeply confronting. We spent the early hours of yesterday in a bomb shelter, and much of today there too. 'The last four to five hours have been extremely frightening and distressing. We've witnessed the unrelenting ballistic missile attacks in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and across Israel,' Ms Peris wrote. Mr Trust was part of a delegation of 12 Australians that were on a tour hosted by the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council. AIJAC spokesman Joel Burnie said on Monday that they were trying to get the delegation, 'over the border.' 'Very tense at the moment, will focus my attention on getting them out,' he told The Kimberley Echo. Wunan CEO Prue Jenkins said she spoke to Mr Trust on Sunday and, 'he was going okay.' According to The Australian newspaper the other members of the group are Ms Peris' husband Scott Appleton, Aboriginal leaders Jody Hampton and Renee Fowlestone, champion NSW footballer, Maurice Goolagong, The Australian's Indigenous affairs correspondent Paige Taylor, eye surgeon Kris Rallah-Baker, filmmakers Annette and Eliya Cohen, lawyer Fred Linker and Middle East expert Bren Carlill. Ms Taylor wrote in The Australian that on the tour the group learned about the history of the Jewish people as well as explored the country's connections to Indigenous Australians. Ms Molan posted to X on Saturday that she was due to leave Israel on Friday but her flight was cancelled due to the attacks. 'I cannot get out of Israel - for those confused… I was here for an event for 1 night and meant to fly home yesterday but overnight the Iranian attack occurred and airport and airspace closed. It's now a war zone.' The latest update on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Smartraveller website posted on Sunday advises people to not travel to Israel. The latest round of military strikes between the two nations began on Friday with a surprise attack by Israel that wiped out the top echelon of Iran's military command and damaged its nuclear sites. Israel advised its campaign would escalate over the coming days. Explosions shook Tel Aviv on Sunday, and, shortly after nightfall, Iranian missiles hit a residential street in Haifa, a mixed Jewish-Arab city, and in Israel's south. The Iranian death toll in four days of Israeli strikes, carried out with the declared aim of wiping out Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, had reached at least 224, with 90 per cent of the casualties reported to be civilians, an Iranian health ministry spokesperson said. At least 10 people in Israel, including children, have been killed so far, according to authorities there.
West Australian
09-06-2025
- West Australian
Gija guide Rebecca Sampi wins Tourism Council WA award for individual excellence
For Gija woman Rebecca Sampi, her work guiding tourists through the awesome wonder of Purnululu National Park is more than just a job — it is an act of reconciliation. 'Being a tour guide is being someone at the forefront,' she said, 'You're the bridge, basically, between the non-Indigenous world and your world. 'You're the reconciliation. You're the link.' Her work sharing her people's cultural and historical connection to Purnululu National Park with hundreds of visitors each year has been recognised by Tourism Council WA with the individual excellence in Aboriginal tourism award. Ms Sampi said she was thrilled to receive the award, especially after being a finalist in the Tourism Council WA awards last year but missing out on the top accolade. 'I never expected it. It means a lot, especially for me and my family,' she said. 'This is a thing that no one has won in the East Kimberley.' As head guide for Kingfisher Tours, Ms Sampi takes about 140 tours through the Purnululu National Park each dry season, sharing her stories and songs about the land and how the ancestors created the local topography, flora and fauna. She has also trained 30 young Aboriginal people to be tour guides, many of whom have gone on to work in tourism operations around the East Kimberley. 'We don't have one group of traditional owners for this area,' Ms Sampi said. 'We have three groups of people in and around Purnululu alone, which is Gija, Jaru, and the Malgnin people. they have roamed this country and shared the land among themselves, and now they're finding they have to share it with non-Indigenous people,' Ms Sampi said she loved sharing the culture and history of her lands with visitors as many tourists had limited knowledge about Aboriginal people. 'I tell them no matter how silly that question sounds, its fine with me, if I can, I'll answer it or I'll try to seek guidance from our old people to try and answer the question for them,' she said. As she continues to train more Aboriginal tourist guides, Ms Sampi hopes not only to provide more visitors to Purnululu National Park with a culturally immersive experience but to help establish a source of continual employment for local people. 'We are hoping that we will have more guides on the ground to be able to hop on the buses and just give the cultural immersive tour to all guests in the park, and hopefully we make an impact on their lives as much as our upcoming generation,' she said.
