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PRESS STATEMENT NO. 497
18 April 1975
TRIBUTE. TO. RAAF
The Prime Minister today paid tribute to the humanitarian
contribution made by the C-130 aircraft of the Royal Australian
Air Force which have been operating in South-East Asia since
March. He did this on the occasion of the return to
Australia of three aircraft which require servicing.
T2he Prime Minister recalled that the aircraft had
originally been sent to South-East Asia to fulfil an urgent
task in the uplifting of refugees at Da Nang. Australia had
been the first country to respond to tL. his request for humanitarian
assistance by providing an airlift capacity : subsequently the
Royal New Zealand Air Force had also provided aircraft.
Since their arrival the C-130 aircraft have been
engaged in relief tasks, most of them connected with the
movement of United Nations supplies. They have also played
a role in the uplift of South Vietnamese orphans for adoption
in Australia. The Prime Minister said that he regretted that there
had been some misleading reports that the aircraft had been
under-employed. In fact, their crews and all those associated
with the carrying of relief supplies had been workina under
very great pressure, in arduous conditions. For example,
about half a million pounds of medical and relief supplies
had been transported from Bangkok to Saigon and much of these
had had to be loaded by hand by RAAF crews.
The Prime Minister recalled that he had already referred
in Parliament to tributes paid to the P. AAF performances.
He said that he had asked the Chief of the Air Staff to
convey his personal appreciation to all those who had been
involved. 2
The Prime Minister said that there had been
discussions. this week with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, Mr. Waldheirm, and the coordinator of
relief assistance for Indo China, Sir Robert Jackson,
about the future role which RAAF planes might play in
assisting United Nations agencies in their humanitarian
tasks in indo China. As a result R F Hercules . ere to
be assigned to the United Nations to play a bridging role
in the transport of relief supplies until United Nations
agencies were able to make satisfactory arrangements for
the chartering of aircraft to meet their needs.
The Prime Minister said he was particularly pleased
that Australian Government aircraft would be able to play
this essential humanitarian role in the service of the
United Nations in transporting relief supplies contributed
by the Australian and many other Governments.
Canberra, A. C. T.