Planning underway to rescue stranded Australians from New Caledonia
Australians still stranded in New Caledonia are rationing food as they wait for an exit strategy out of the troubled territory.
QLD News
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Hundreds of Australians still stuck in New Caledonia are rationing food as they wait for an exit strategy out of the troubled Pacific island, following a week of unrest over a contentious voting law change affecting the French territory.
Travellers have been forced to line up outside shops in a bid to buy basic necessities.
Australian tourist Joanne Elias said food was scarce where she and her family were staying in Noumea.
“The kids are definitely hungry because we don’t really have much option of what we can feed them,” Ms Elias told Reuters by phone from a resort.
Australian business owner Nicholas Agustin, who was intending to holiday at the destination with his partner, described the scene as chaos.
“We saw men on the streets with balaclavas and big sticks. There was smoke in the city,” he said.
Another Australian business owner, Chris Salmon, said he had never seen violence on this level in the 20 years he had lived there.
“Close to half the city commercial area has been burned to the ground, the damages would be in the tens of billions of dollars,” he said.
“Almost all of the civilian male population are running night shifts on the curfew because there’s not enough military and police forces to assist in setting up these Mad Max barricades in their neighbourhood streets.
“They’re all manning these barricades with bats, clubs and guns.”
Mr Salmon said despite the weak response from the initially overwhelmed security forces, some measure of order was starting to return, with the Australian consulate-general visiting Australian citizens trapped in their hotels.
“We had a meeting with them this morning. They did a quick tour of the major hotels” Mr Salmon said.
“The Australians here have started to be given some reassurance that they’re doing everything they can,” he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said in a statement posted to X the Australian government was working with French authorities on an exit strategy for Australians who wished to leave.
“The Australian Defence Force is ready to fly, pending commercial flights resuming,” she wrote.
“French authorities advise the situation on the ground is preventing flights.
“We continue to pursue approvals.”
It comes as aircraft used to fly police officers to the island were sighted at Brisbane Airport.
Three Airbus A330-243s operated by Air Forces Command France were seen on Saturday and Sunday.
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