PW_4_2024

Article

Auckland’s Sky Tower from Police 1

We left Auckland on Tuesday and flew to Canberra via Sydney for our planned meeting. During our stay in Canberra we took part in several walks around the capital, including the two-day Aussie Peace Walk, which was in its 33rd year and the second time we had taken part. Coincidentally, during our stay in Canberra, the NEB of Section Australia were having their half yearly meeting so Helen and I were able to meet up for dinner with them. It was interesting to hear that all sections are suffering the same issues with recruitment and retention of members, but that is for another time. During our visit we used the Canberra Services Club, which is open to all serving members and ex serving members of the armed forces including those of the Emergency Services. We met the President of the club Jon Hunt-Sharman a retired member of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and a former president of their Police Federation. I even managed to get him to join the IPA! We made our way to Perth and the president of Section Australia Jason Brewer was on the same aircraft. Jason kindly dropped us off at our hotel. He had also arranged for us to meet local members during our stay, and we went out for dinner. We visited Rottnest Island which lies about 30km from Perth, a journey of about 90 minutes by ferry. There is hardly any traffic on Rottnest, so is ideal for walkers and cyclists. Helen and I opted to walk the “GabbI Karniny Bidi” route, which took you around the Salt lakes. We took a slight detour to visit the Island’s lighthouse and take in the breathtaking views, Rottnest is the home to the “Quokka” which is a small marsupial and likes nothing more than posing for a photo! We had a fantastic trip made all the better from the support from Sections New Zealand and Australia. If anyone is travelling make sure you fill that Travel Request in, you never know where it will lead!

POLICE WORLD Vol 69 No.4, 2024

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