Latest news with #Wunan
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
03-06-2025
- Automotive
- West Australian
Driving Change: Wunan helps overcome barriers to licences in the Kimberley
The biggest obstacle to getting her driver's licence for Kununurra woman Rose Lewis was simply getting behind the wheel. With no family car, the road to 50 hours of supervised driving — and her licence — seemed like a long and winding one. But East Kimberley Aboriginal organisation Wunan changed that by offering her driving lessons from her workplace at its head office where she was employed as a receptionist. 'I never had a car for a long time like my family didn't, and so the drivers would actually pick me up from my work and take me out, which is really great,' she said. Ms Lewis is one of 1,637 people across WA who have obtained their driver's licence through the Department of Transport's driving access and equity program. DAEP supports people who face barriers in the licensing process to obtain their driver's licence, develop safe driving habits and improve their employment opportunities. Many learner drivers struggle to obtain a licence because they do not have regular access to a vehicle to complete the required 50 hours of supervised driving, or they can't afford a driving instructor to teach them. The DAEP provides grants to community-based organisations to deliver projects on the ground, improving access to appropriately licensed vehicles, driving supervisors and instructors and providing road rules education and assistance with identity documents. Assistant transport minister Jessica Stojkovski said the program did not just offer participants the keys to a car. 'The keys are actually to opportunity,' she said 'Getting your driver's licence, it's not just your photo and details on an ID. It's the capacity to be able to go out and get a job. 'Also the work Wunan are doing along with the driving instructing is important. That is, getting some of those health checks done, making sure that their vision and their hearing is good, working through any illiteracy issues as well.' Ms Stojkovski said some family and domestic violence refuges were referring women to Wunan to obtain their driver's licences so they can have greater access to services and job opportunities. 'I think the impact of this program is widely felt,' she said. Almost $26 million in grant funding has been delivered through the program to 29 organisations across WA since it was established in 2022. That includes five organisations in the Kimberley with 1,258 people participating in the program and, so far, 488 licences being issued.
