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ABC News
17 hours ago
- ABC News
Indonesia airdropped aid for Palestinians in Gaza, but experts question its effectiveness
Indonesia has airdropped 18 tonnes of aid into Gaza after being given special permission by Israel. As people in Gaza continue to die of starvation, Indonesia sent necessities like blankets, staple foods, ready to eat meals, and medicine. The first Indonesian mission was completed as the country celebrated its independence day last Sunday. The 17.8 tonnes sent referred to the date of the Indonesia's independence day — August 17. "This achievement marks a historic milestone and serves as a special gift coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia," said Frega Wenas Inkriwan from the Indonesia's Ministry of Defence. The Indonesian military said the aid mission was conducted with other countries and led by Royal Jordanian Air Force."We celebrated the Independence Day, not only with ceremonies, but also with concrete humanitarian actions. Hopefully, this aid can ease the burden on our brothers and sisters in Gaza," said Puguh Julianto, the mission commander from the Indonesian Air Force. "Through airdrops, aid can reach areas that are difficult to reach by land." Indonesian authorities said a second batch of aid was dropped into the strip on Tuesday, as part of the country's plan to deliver 800 tonnes of aid to the people of Gaza. As well as the airdrops, Indonesia has sent aid into Rafah, along with Egyptian charities. Mokhamad Mahdun from the national zakat foundation, known as BAZNAS, said the mission "wasn't easy" due to the security and regulations around the border under Israeli military control. Three out of five trucks carrying aid were allowed to enter, while the other two were still waiting for clearance, Mr Mahdun said. At least half a million of people in Gaza are on the brink of famine and the rest are experiencing emergency levels of hunger due to Israeli military action on the strip, according to the World Food Programme. Despite mounting international pressure to end the war in Gaza and increase aid deliveries, Israel continues to deny it has a policy of starvation in Gaza. Several other countries including the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belgium have also airdropped aid to Gaza. However, Amra Lee — a researcher from Australian National University and former adviser to the UN on humanitarian relief and conflict resolution — criticised aid airdrops as "performative" and "inefficient". "They seem to be inherently unsafe due to the manner in which they land there, it's also very undignified and inefficient," she told ABC Radio National. Ms Lee said the air drops looked good but didn't deliver enough. "Airdrops are very, very visual, I think they can make it look like you're doing something but they just can't carry the supplies that they needed, and they cannot ensure the most vulnerable people get the aid," Ms Lee said. Ms Lee said the international community needed to continue to "exert pressure" on Israel to facilitate aid at the scale required to "avert mass starvation". Indonesia has long been a supporter of Palestine, particularly through sending humanitarian aid. Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, from Centre of Economic and Law Studies in Jakarta, said Indonesia needed to do more to "end Israeli apartheid". "The reason Indonesia has not taken a stronger stance is likely due to a combination of factors," Dr Rakhmat said. "Its need to maintain diplomatic relations with other powers, the complexity of regional geopolitics, and concerns about the potential repercussions of antagonising Israel for its allies." He said Indonesia could push for stronger sanctions on Israel while advocating for a shift towards a more just and lasting peace. Last week, the Indonesian government was criticised after announcing a plan to use uninhabited land near Singapore to treat 2,000 Palestinians wounded during Israel's military offensive in Gaza. Critics said the plan was aligned with President Donald Trump's statement earlier this year that the US could take control of Gaza and turn it into "the Riviera of the Middle East". Under it, Palestinians would not be able to return to Gaza.
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
'We've got no time to wait' – Port Lincoln hosts forum on algal bloom disaster
Community forums are being held along South Australia's coastline, where toxic algal bloom continues to wreak havoc for marine life, and those who earn a living off the ocean. The impact of the bloom has been largest felt in the Gulf St Vincent, but has also crossed over to the Spencer Gulf, putting prized seafood regions along the Eyre Peninsula at risk. There is uncertainty over how long it will take the bloom to dissipate, as well as economic uncertainty in the form of financial assistance to impacted businesses. Community members in the fishing town of Port Lincoln gathered on the weekend to receive presentations from experts, and to raise concerns about the impact of the bloom. Reporter: Tim McGlone (Port Lincoln)
ABC News
4 days ago
- ABC News
Coloured wool from Polwarth sheep popular with crafters around the world
In 1971, Wendy Dennis had an epiphany while under the shower. "I thought, 'Why don't I breed coloured sheep?' Because it's already got a colour, you don't have to dye it, no chemicals. Breed them." Wendy was newly married to a farmer in south-west Victoria and the global resurgence in home crafts such as spinning and knitting natural fibres was just beginning. Up until that time, most "coloured sheep", namely anything with not entirely white wool, usually ended up on the dinner table. "So I rescued a few coloured sheep out of the 'killer' paddock, [where they were] ready for Sunday lunch," Wendy, now 83, recalled. Wendy's husband Dave remembered the moment. "People are starting to spin coloured wool," Wendy told him. "'I'm going to have those killers. You can't kill them,'" Dave Dennis recalled her saying. And so a unique flock was born where the recessive dark wool gene replaced the dominant white wool one. "There are so many different colours. There are all the blacks and greys then there's the browns and fawns," Wendy said. In the half century since the flock began the Dennis family's wool has been sent to craft enthusiasts around the world to be fashioned into all manner of things. The wool is keenly sought after because the sheep are the Polwarth breed which produces a unique fleece. "Australia's first breed of sheep and it all started with the Dennises in 1880," Wendy said. In that year Richard Dennis launched the breed, named after the local electorate. It was the result of the cold, damp climate causing fleece rot in the dense wool of their merino flock. "That bit about water collecting in the fleece and not being able to expel was problematic and so that's the problem they sought to fix by crossing it with the Lincoln," Wendy's son Tom said. "So it's three-quarter merino, one quarter Lincoln, bred to a fixed type called a Polwarth, originally [named] a Dennis Comeback, later called a Polwarth," Wendy added. The Lincoln's long greasy wool gave the Polwarth the ability to cope with wetter, colder climates. By the early 1900s the breed was rapidly spreading throughout southern Australia and being exported to high rainfall countries, especially in South America, even to the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. Polwarths peaked in Australia at about 8 million in the 1960s. By then they accounted for more than half the sheep in Tasmania. At the recent Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo, Tasmanian producer Wayne Walker shipped his prized Polwarths across Bass Strait and took out the major prizes in their class. But the number of entries was well down. "It's a a bit tough for a lot of people to get here and the costs are getting dearer and nothing is getting easier," Wayne said. In recent decades Polwarth numbers have rapidly declined because of advances in the merino breed. But breeders such as Greg Potter and his daughter Samantha believe the breed's distinctive wool has a unique and important role in the natural fibres' market. "People love the single source Polwarth," Samantha Potter said. "Being a longer, straighter, more aligned fibre it makes the wool easier to peel out and spin," Greg added. Their wool is sold directly to the wool craft market, including to the Dennis family, and processed and spun locally into yarn. Isabel Renters, who with her husband Nick operates a carding and spinning mill near Ballarat, says there is growing consumer demand for natural, sustainable fibre products. "All looking for natural products where they know it's sustainable, it's ethical, traceable," Isabel said. Natural coloured wool, free from chemical dye is also gaining favour, especially among wool crafters. "It's just a dream come true because it's got a good crimp, which makes it a little more elastic and it's got a demi-lustre from the Lincoln which makes it shine a tiny bit and it's so soft from the merinos," Wendy Dennis said. Tom Dennis is the fifth generation of his family to grow Polwarths and continue a sheep bloodline that stretches back to the family's merinos, shipped from Tasmania to Victoria in 1840. Drawing on the family's large archives, Tom is setting up a mini museum on the property to better tell the Polwarth story. It will showcase the passion, foresight and innovation that created the breed in 1880. But more importantly, it will cater for the present. "We need to make sure we've got woollen yarn in front of people that appreciate, Australian-grown, Australian processed, good ethical standards," Tom said. "And those sorts of values that people want to buy into when they're purchasing yarn."
