BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
Natural disasters have been part of the national stories of both Australia and Solomon Islands, said Richard Marles, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence.
Mr Marles said this when he officially handed over four drones on behalf of the Australian Government to the Government of Solomon Islands.
Marles delivered the advanced drones to Wayne Ghemu, Minister for Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) during a ceremony on Wednesday this week at Aola Patrol boat base.
“It is an honour for me to be here today at this very important ceremony to hand over these very important pieces of equipment.
“We share the same neighbourhood, which means that we share the same weather, and in so many ways we share the same experiences, which is why, since independence, we’ve had deep cooperation between our agencies that respond to natural disasters, including the National Disaster Management Office, as well as the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force.
“So, it is an enormous pleasure to hand over these four parrot drones, which will have the ability to be able to assess damage in the aftermath of a disaster within, as the Minister said, those critical first 48 hours,” Marles said.
He said it is an absolutely essential capability to have, to be able to bring bare picture of what has occurred so that response can be rapid and effective.
He said that these drones add to supporting Solomon Islands in its response to natural disasters, including the humanitarian warehouse, that will operate in combination with the other humanitarian warehouse at Auki in Malaita.
According to Marles, these will provide critical stores, which are absolutely needed in the most difficult moment.
“As we face natural disasters together, what all of these drones represent is a shared experience between our two countries, but I very much hope they also represent a symbol of the friendship and the partnership between Solomon Islands and Australia, because they demonstrate that in the most difficult and darkest of moments, both of our countries stand shoulder to shoulder with each other.
“And in those moments, we respond, we repair, we rebuild, and together we face the future,” he said.
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