@icyfroth wrote:
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is flying into Vanuatu on a RAAF aircraft, no trouble for Julie to jump on a freight plane could you imagine Rudd taking that trip.
She will fly from Brisbane in a military aircraft loaded with fresh supplies and return to Canberra the same day for the final parliamentary sitting week before the May budget.
There are now 78 defence personnel on the ground in Vanuatu, with another 335 expected to arrive early next week on board the transport ship HMAS Tobruk.
I haven’t heard of any other countries lending a hand in Vanuatu thus far, Australia always seems to be the first country to lend a hand in times of natural disasters, where is the UN right now.
It looks like the UN might be co-ordinating the aid efforts after those terrible Save the Children people turned up to help first.
Save the Children was first on the scene after the cyclone churned across the island.
"People came in on the evening of the cyclone with their own food, water and whatever they need for the night of the cyclone," Ms Kalo said.
"But then (last) Saturday morning the Save the Children fund started to come in supplying food, water, even clothes for little ones and mothers, and they provide other things like dishes and pots for people to use."
The latest UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report:Around 166,000 people, more than half of Vanuatu's population, have been affected by Tropical Cyclone Pam on 22 islands.
Food stocks and water reserves are being exhausted and will not last more than a couple of weeks across the affected island.
The government-led joint Initial Rapid Needs Assessments concluded on March 20.
Access to affected communities is still hindered in Emae Island and in the eastern part of Pentecost Island.
An estimated 50-90 per cent of local dwellings have been damaged by gale-force winds.
Fuel stocks are running low across the affected islands in Vanuatu while electricity is mostly unavailable and generators are essential.
Around 65,000 people are in need of temporary emergency shelter.
Schools postponed classes for two weeks with a start date of March 30. There is an immediate need for temporary safe learning spaces for 50,000 to 70,000 children.
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