Australian Defence Force repatriation flights land in Brisbane from New Caledonia

The first Australians evacuated from riot-stricken New Caledonia have arrived back in the country but not everyone is safely home.

At least 300 Australian travellers have been stuck in or near the capital of Noumea since violent protests erupted last Monday, with some saying they have been unable to access essential medications or food.

After several days of pressing the French government, the Federal Government received permission to send two military transport planes to pick up the first of the evacuees.

The flights landed in Brisbane on Tuesday night.

Among the passengers were Gary and Chris Salmon.

The father and son live on the Gold Coast and have worked in the nickel mining industry in New Caledonia for 20 years.

Gary Salmon told the ABC he had never seen anything like the current unrest.

“It’s very unfortunate what’s happening there at the moment, it’s such a beautiful country,” he said.

“I’d hate to estimate the damage over there, it won’t be millions, it’ll be billions.”

Chris said he and his father were grateful the Australian government responded so quickly.

“It’s quite sad what’s going on over there it feels pretty awful and pretty senseless,” Mr Salmon said.

“Everyone was just so relieved to have that Australian support … when Canberra kicked into gear with DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) and they got their comms going they really did a good job as well, so really happy,” he said.

Mary Hatten and her family were trying to have a holiday when the riots erupted.

“When we landed, it was just like ‘Oh, thank God we’re here!'” Ms Hatton said.

She said the Australian government should have done more to warn travellers of the potential unrest.

“By Tuesday morning quite frankly the place was just in a mess, which was very sad for the locals, for the tourist industry, and I suppose to some extent for our own personal enjoyment, we were pretty much confined to the hotel,” Ms Hatten said.

“We had a lot of discussions with local business operators and also a couple of people that we met who were expats, working there … for four or five years and they sort of said ‘it’s been on the cards, things have been brewing’.

“I’m sort of thinking to myself, well, maybe the travel warning should be a lot greater.”

A similar flight carrying about 50 New Zealand citizens landed in Auckland on Tuesday night.

Australians await more flights

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have contacted Australians in New Caledonia saying that French authorities will conduct further evacuation flights from the country on Wednesday local time.

“Pending further updates from French authorities, we will contact you with more details on their flight arrangements,” the communication said.

DFAT said flights could come at short notice and people needed to be prepared to leave.

“The Australian Government also stands ready to assist with further flights should French authorities grant approval.”

DFAT has also told Australians outside the capital that safe passage back to Noumea would be facilitated by French authorities in coming days.

It said it was seeking further guidance on the arrangements.

France’s High Commission in New Caledonia said more flights were expected in coming days to evacuate some 500 French and foreign tourists.

The international airport, shut since the start of the riots, remained closed for commercial flights.

Those still waiting for a way out were frustrated.

Australian Benen Huntley had been honeymooning with his wife Emily.

“My wife is quite upset, we just want to get home,” he told Reuters in a telephone interview.

“We opened our hotel door this morning and you could just see an enormous billow of smoke coming off a building in the distance.”

Queuing to buy bread, the Adelaide couple had seen dozens of gendarmes guarding a petrol station.

Local authorities said nearly 300 people had been arrested since the violence began last week.

French president to visit New Caledonia

As some Australians began arriving home, French President Emmanuel Macron was preparing to depart for New Caledonia.

Government spokeswoman Prisca Thevenot said on Tuesday that Mr Macron “will leave as soon as this evening”.

The announcement came after a Cabinet meeting in which Mr Macron announced he had decided to travel there himself.

Aides to Mr Macron said he would meet with elected officials and local representatives on Thursday for a day of talks focused on politics and on the reconstruction of the island.

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said the objective was to “prepare and anticipate reconstruction.”

“The president is also going there to re-establish dialogue,” Mr Attal said.

Initial reaction suggested renewing dialogue would not be an easy task — all the more so as pro-independence leaders blame the riots on Mr Macron pushing through the electoral reform despite local opposition.

“Here comes the fireman after he set the fire!” Jimmy Naouna, from the Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) of New Caledonia, wrote on X about news of the president’s visit.

His surprise visit comes after violent riots left six people dead and hundreds of others injured.

New Caledonia, with a population of about 270,000, has been rocked by unrest sparked by French plans to impose new rules that would give tens of thousands of non-Indigenous residents voting rights.

Pro-independence groups say any such move would dilute the indigenous Kanak vote.

France has sent 1,000 armed police, troops, and national security reinforcements to its overseas territory.

A state of emergency, overnight curfew and a ban on TikTok has done little to quell the unrest.

SOURCE: ABCNEWS