China is using the worldwide Wuhan Virus chaos to consolidate power in the South China Sea: COVID-19 is now an obvious defence threat; Australian Govt stimulus must be redirected to the Armed Forces as a matter of urgency -Security of fuel and food at stake

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Annotated map showing the path of five Chinese maritime militia ships passing through the Union Banks in the Spratly islands during the first three weeks of March, 2020.

 RFA

Radio Free Asia has reported that "even as the coronavirus crisis sweeps through Asia, China continues to assert its presence in the South China Sea by deploying maritime militia around disputed islands and reefs in the Spratly island chain."

Zack Cooper, a research fellow specializing on Asian security issues at the American Enterprise Institute, said China was continuing with its assertive behavior in regional disputes despite the COVID-19 pandemic now commanding the world's attention.

“Beijing has stepped up military activity around Taiwan and now appears to be doing some of the same around Union Banks. Whether this is simply a continuation of previous activity or an intentional effort to use this distraction to put pressure on other claimants is unclear,” Cooper said.

Ship-tracking software indicates that five People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM) vessels – with the call signs Yuetaiyu (Fishing vessel) 18777, 18333, 18888, 18222, and 18555 -- passed in early March between China's reclaimed island at Subi Reef -- often a waystation for Chinese ships deployed to the region -- and Thitu Island, a Philippine-occupied feature where Chinese vessels have engaged in a sustained pressure campaign, as documented by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. The ships first stopped at Whitson Reef, in Union Banks’ northeast, from March 3 to March 8.

It is obvious that the Wuhan Virus presents defence as well as health and economic threats. It follows that the Morrison Government's growing multi-billion dollar stimulus package ought to be re-directed in part to the Armed Forces as a matter of urgency. Australia's supplies of fuel and possibly food are at stake.

END 

SEE ALSO 

PM Morrison can save billions by terminating the DCNS/Naval Group "Attack Class" submarine contracts : Covid 19 could be a Force Majeure event

COVID-19: Singapore can track carriers, but NSW's Premier Berejiklian unable to do so despite NSW Emergency Management Services expensive GIS facilities

by Ganesh Sahathevan

                                           Gladys Berejiklian seems more concerned with 
                                          sounding and looking stern, determined


As reported by Quint.com and others:

Trace Together is an app by the Singapore government that has already been installed by 620,000 people. This contact tracing app can identify people who have come within 2 metres of COVID-19 positive patient for at least half an hour using wireless Bluetooth technology.

In a bid to fight the global coronavirus pandemic, the Singapore government is now making the code for this app open-source, which means it can be modified and used by developers globally to trace people. It will help infected people track and identify who they have been in close contact with – an essential step in fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Trace Together app is available on the Google Play Store and IOS app store in Singapore, but now that the code is available, expect new apps to come up in other markets.

Trace Together is an app that uses Bluetooth technology to detect when it is near another phone that has the app installed. Phones which have the app exchange anonymous IDs, which are encrypted and stored, even if you don't know the other person.

If any user gets infected with COVID-19, that person will be asked to give government or contact tracers access to the Trace Together data. This is a list of anonymous IDs that the person's phone has been close to.

The app says it doesn't collect any geo-location or any other personal data, which makes it data-privacy rule friendly. The anonymous IDs will help contact tracers track down people who have been in close proximity to the user. This will help quickly contain the spread of the disease.

The excuse in NSW is a lack of facilities, naturally blamed on a lack of funding.However, as reported in January, NSW has significant geospatial assets, which have been ignored if not under utilised.

END

TO BE READ WITH

Did NSW Emergency Management Services ignore its own data, and fail to advise David Elliot of the likelihood of catastrophic bushfires? Chairperson Andrew Cappie-Wood's advise requires scrutiny



January 04, 2020

by Ganesh Sahathevan



The NSW Government would have had, if not ought to have had more than sufficient warning that catastrophic bushfires were likely:

Spatial Services' Emergency Information Coordination Unit (EICU) ensures that the emergency management sector has the best spatial and related data available to deal with multi-agency emergencies, such as terrorism and natural disasters.

EICU was established as a counter-terrorist initiative. There is however a commonality in the data required by Emergency Service Organisations (ESOs) for bushfires, floods, earthquakes, storms, and law enforcement activities.

The EICU aims to implement and maintain a collaborative data sharing system on behalf of the emergency service organisations and the emergency management sector in general.

The EICU developed and now maintains the Emergency Services Spatial Information Library (ESSIL). The library combines data from over 200 source agencies supplying more than 11,000 spatial layers which are transformed into 350 seamless state-wide layers. These layers encompass all areas of emergency planning, response and recovery.

As shown before, spatial data is readily available in simple to comprehend forms.The data is freely available, often at no cost.

This is but one simple example. Up to date data may be purchased for a relatively low cost (where it is not free ) and from that data well researched, understood and long established algorithms can be applied to estimate fuel load, and hence the probability of a catastrophic fire event.

It is hard to imagine that the Spatial Services' Emergency Information Coordination Unit (EICU would not have had that data, and advised the relevant branches of the NSW Government accordingly. 

One  relevant department in this case would have been the the State Emergency Management Commit​​tee (SEMC) Emergency Management involves a range of programs and arrangements designed to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from the effects of hazards impacting on the community.

The State Emergency Management Committee was established under the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989 to ensure that New South Wales has a system to cope with emergencies which is robust, effective and flexible enough to deal with the range of hazards experienced in New South Wales. A hazard impacting on the community may result in an emergency.

The SEMC is chaired by the recently retired head of the Department Of Justice,Mr Andrew Cappie-Wood, whose job it is to advise his minister, Minister for Emergency Services The Hon. David Andrew Elliot.

Mr Cappie-Wood is not shy of publicity. It is time we heard from him with regards the bushfire catastrophe and it is time for David Elliot to explain what he did or did not know about the impending emergency. 

END 

Covid-19 heightens public right to know, currently frustrated by civil servants producing documents behind cloak of immunity, on-line harassment laws,and digital document scrubbing: Only significant class actions against NSW & Cth Govt can ensure public fully informed

The Ruby Princess debacle shows this is a war of information-Aaron Patrick,AFR



by Ganesh Sahathevan



The Ruby Princess contagion is another case of NSW civil servants producing false or negligent documents protected by immunity, and on-line harassment laws.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said “all of us have to take responsibility” but declined to name the official who allowed the passengers to disembark or say whether anyone would lose their jobs.

As reported on a related blog by this writer, civil servants in NSW have the capacity to produce documents no matter how ridiculous without putting their names to it (see below). There is evidence of NSW Department Of Justice documents being digitally scrubbed to ensure anonymity.The Department has also attempted to rely on on-line harassment laws to evade queries from this journalist.

While this may not seem the appropriate time to do so, a significant class acton against the NSW and Commonwealth governments seems to be the only way to ensure that governments provide the public with all the information required to keep safe, and provide compensation for losses suffered.

END 

TO BE READ WITH

Thursday, June 27, 2019

LPAB & CJ NSW have shown why "public document" defence rules should be be relaxed

by Ganesh Sahathevan


A summary of the public document defense is provided by Chris Moore and Chloé Ellis of Hicksons

A complete defence is available to a defamation action if the matter complained of was contained in ‘public document’. [1]

The defence is primarily available to government and statutory bodies who publish information including on online public registers published in the course of their statutory duties.

A defence established for publication of a ‘public document’ is defeated if, and only if, the plaintiff proves that the defamatory matter was not published honestly for the information of the public or the advancement of education.

[1] As defined - Defamation Act 2005 (NSW) s 28(1); Defamation Act 2005 (Vihe c) s 28(1); Defamation Act 2005 (Qld) s 28(1); Defamation Act 2005 (SA) s 26(1); Defamation Act 2005 (WA) s 28(1); Defamation Act 2005 (Tas) s 28(1).

While government and its civil servants need to be protected in the course of carrying out their duties the recent case where  the  Legal Profession Admission Board (LPAB) published documents which contained findings of a conspiracy involving Tony Blair,Donald Rumsfeld, the current  Prime Minister of Malaysia, a number of prominent ABC journalists, the internationally acclaimed Clare Rewcastle-Brown (sister -in-law of the former Prime Minister of the UK, Gordon Brown) and this writer suggest that that privilege needs to be reviewed.

That the LPAB is chaired by the Chief Justice NSW and overseen by the Attorney General NSW illustrates how difficult it can be to challenge published findings; there is at least an unwritten presumption that civil servants and other government officials are persons whose integrity must never be questioned.

Additionally there appears to be a growing tendency towards anonymous publication. The LPAB  for example has taken to issuing unsigned letters (or documents initialed "on behalf of the Board") and to digitally scrubbing documents to ensure that the normal record of names and dates involved in the production of documents is removed.

It has been reported previously that the LPAB has also sought to re-write the facts underlying decisions of the NSW Supreme Court in order to justify its published findings.

The public document defense is a concept that belongs to a time gone by when decisions of government and its various arms could not be easily verified. The Net and easy access to databases changes all that, but civil servants have not quite understood that fact. So  long as they remain protected,they will continue to publish material that may well be difficult to challenge in court, but which can nevertheless harm the credibility of government both locally and overseas.

END 

SEE ALSO

Bizarre blog claims used to deny man right to practise law

• EXCLUSIVE

  BEN BUTLER

  BUSINESS REPORTER

  
• 12:00AM JANUARY 17, 2019
• 2 COMMENTS

The body overseen by Chief Justice Tom Bathurst responsible for deciding who can practise law in NSW relied on a wildly defamatory Malaysian blog depicting ABC journalists, former British prime minister Tony Blair, financier George Soros and others as part of a global conspiracy when deciding to deny a would-be solicitor a certificate to practise.

Chief Justice Bathurst and Legal Practitioner Admission Board executive officer Louise Pritchard declined to answer The Australian’s questions about how the article came into the board’s hands and why its members felt the conspiracy-laden material could be relied upon as part of a decision to deny Sydney man Ganesh Sahathevan admission as a lawyer. Nor would either say which of the 10 members of the LPAB, three of whom are serving NSW Supreme Court judges, was on the deciding panel.

Ms Pritchard has left her role at the LPAB since The Australian began making inquiries in September. The article, published in December 2017 on website The Third Force, accuses Mr Sahathevan of engaging in a conspiracy to attack then Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak.

READ NEXT

• 
  EXCLUSIVE
  Would-be lawyer denied by blog
  BEN BUTLER

Mahathir Mohamad, who returned as prime minister after toppling Mr Najib in elections held last May, is also smeared as a participant in the globe-spanning conspiracy.

Mr Najib was under pressure at the time over the country’s sovereign wealth fund, 1MDB, which the US Department of Justice says has been looted of billions of dollars that was spent on property, art, jewels and the Leonardo DiCaprio film, The Wolf of Wall Street.

Malaysian authorities have charged Mr Najib with dozens of corruption offences that could attract decades in jail over his role in the 1MDB scandal, which allegedly included the flow of about $US1 billion through his personal bank account.

The article’s author, Malaysian political operative and Najib loyalist Raggie Jessy, also accused Rewcastle-Brown, Stein and Besser of receiving money, totalling millions of dollars, to participate in a Four Corners program exposing the 1MDB scandal that aired on the ABC in March 2016.

There is no suggestion any of Mr Jessy’s bizarre allegations are true. However, the LPAB cited the piece when denying Mr Sahathevan admission as a lawyer in an undated and unsigned set of reasons sent to him on August 3 last year.

It used the article as evidence in a passage dealing with legal conflicts between Mr Sahathevan, who has largely worked in the past as a journalist, his former employer, Malaysia’s Sun Media Group, and the company’s owner, tycoon Vincent Tan.

In that context, the board said the Third Force article reported “that Mr Sahathevan was investigated for blackmail, extortion, bribery and defamation”. While the article claims that blackmail, extortion, bribery and defamation “are but some of the transgressions many from around the world attribute” to Mr Sahathevan, The Australian was unable to find any reference in it to an investigation into him on these grounds.

It is unclear why the board felt the need to rely on the article, as it also made adverse findings about Mr Sahathevan’s character based on a series of other allegations including that he used “threatening and intimidating” language in emails to the College of Law and the NSW Attorney General and did not disclose his sacking from a previous job to the board.

Mr Sahathevan has denied the allegations in correspondence with the board.

The board also cited evidence that one of Mr Sahathevan’s blogs on Malaysian politics was banned by the Najib regime as indicating his poor character.

In an email to Chief Justice Bathurst, sent on August 30, Rewcastle-Brown said her site, Sarawak Report, which exposed much of the 1MDB scandal, was banned by the Malaysian government.

“I along with other critics of the 1MDB scandal (which includes Mr Sahathevan) became the target of immense state-backed vilification, intimidation and online defamation campaigns on behalf of the Malaysian government,” she said.

She said the board’s use of the Third Force article against Mr Sahathevan displayed “a troubling level of misjudgment and poor quality research, giving a strong impression that someone seeking to find reasons to disqualify this candidate simply went through the internet looking for ‘dirt’ against him”.

“The Third Force has consistently been by far the most outlandish, libellous, vicious and frankly ludicrous of all the publications that were commissioned as part of former prime minister Najib Razak’s self-proclaimed ‘cyber army’ which he paid (and continues to pay) to defame his perceived enemies and critics,” she said.

Besser, who now works in the ABC’s London bureau, told The Australian: “It’s clearly nonsense and comes from the darkest corners of some pretty wild Malaysian conspiracy theorists.”

Mr Sahathevan’s application is to be reconsidered at an LPAB meeting next month (Admission has since been denied, for the same reasons, but without explicit reference to the Thirdforce story).

BEN BUTLER

   

BUSINESS REPORTER

Business reporter Ben Butler has covered everything from tractors to fashion to corporate collapses. He has previously worked for the Herald Sun and as a senior business reporter with The Age and Sydney Morning... Read more

ABC's Emma Alberici's has reported with approval: "This Chinese virus is dangerous" ,warned virologist Burioni as far back as early January

by Ganesh Sahathevan






ABC's Emma Alberici reporting on ABC's Foreign Correspondent has reported an interview with Italian virologist Professor Roberto Burioni, and reported how Burioni warned the Italian Government of the danger of Wuhan Virus contagion from Chinese visitors. Alberici has reported that Milan regularly received three plane loads of visitors from Wuhan weekly.
The interview is available at the link below; listen from 10:00 onwards.
https://www.abc.net.au/foreign/life-in-the-time-of-corona/12086808
It is clear that Alberici approves of Burioni's advice.

END

Synopsis 

Life in the Time of Corona

Posted Tue 24 Mar 2020, 7:50pm

Updated Tue 24 Mar 2020, 7:21pm

Expires: Wednesday 19 February 4758 7:50pm

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It's Europe's coronavirus epicentre with cases of infected rising by over a thousand daily. In the country's north, hospitals are full. Patients, young and old, are dying.

To control the outbreak, Italy is in lockdown but is it too little too late?

In the province of Lodi, half an hour from northern Italy's capital Milan, it's day 23 of the lockdown.

A young couple - Isabella and Roberto - are stuck at home with their 3-year-old daughter Eleonora. They're wondering when they will be able to resume normal life.

The northern Lombardy region has been dubbed the ground zero of Italy's corona crisis. So far, over two thousand people have died there and nearly thirty thousand have been infected.

After Lombardy, the virus spread through the north, then nationwide.

At first, doctors mistook it for the flu. Precious time was lost and now Italy, known for its warm embraces and kisses on both cheeks, has more cases than any country apart from China.

Hospitals have been swamped. All non-corona related patients' care has been sidelined. Doctors have been issued with protocols about which patients to prioritise and which not to - a form of disaster medicine.

Desperate to bring the virus under control, Italy has finally taken strong action, declaring a nationwide lockdown. Schools and universities have shut. Shops, cafes and restaurants have closed. Apart from buying groceries, people need official authorisation to move around or else face a fine.

Reporter Emma Alberici can't travel to Italy but she has relatives and friends in and around Milan.

For this special report, Emma taps into her network of family and friends as well as doctors and businesspeople, to tell an intimate story about how families, communities and the country are dealing with this unprecedented health emergency.

We use skype calls, phone diaries and photos to bring you a picture of Italy in lockdown.

In Milan, we meet the head surgeon at one of the city's major hospitals. He's isolated at home after contracting the coronavirus from one of his patients. He explains how he's being treated for the infection and his fears for his wife, who's working as an obstetrician.

There's 7-year-old Zoe, who's doing schoolwork from her home in Milan. She skypes her Australian friend Livia and they chat and giggle about the virus and hand washing.

We meet Emma's 90-year-old aunt recently hospitalised with influenza, and her cousin - also Emma Alberici - who's looking after her mother while holding down a job as CFO of a big pharmaceutical company in Milan - an industry which has special exemption from the lockdown.

We hear from Isabella and Roberto about the meals they're cooking and the bread they're baking.

And we interview virologist Prof Roberto Burioni who warns Australia that this virus is dangerous and must be taken with the utmost seriousness.

This is an intimate insight into an extraordinary moment in history.

Watch 'Life in the Time of Corona' on Tuesday 24 March at 8pm on ABC TV and iview.

PM Morrison can save billions by terminating the DCNS/Naval Group "Attack Class" submarine contracts : Covid 19 could be a Force Majeure event

by Ganesh Sahathevan



PHOTO: Australia is being urged to buy nuclear-powered submarines when it replaces its fleet of Collins class subs. (ADF)




The Covid-19/Wuhan Virus contagion has economic consequences that are already becoming apparent, and Australians have been told that matters can only get worse.

The contagion and its consequences could not have been foreseen when the Australian Government entered into contracts with DCNS/Naval Group to design and build Australia's next generation of submarines. It does appear to be a force majeure event; indeed the consequences might create a series of force majeure events in for example continuing and  extreme Commonwealth budgets deficits that put the cost of even designing the submarines beyond the capacity of the Commonwealth.


END
See Also

Now that Alan Jones has (correctly) condemned the Turnbull submarines, l'affaire Adelaide has become a Sydney as well as Canberra issue

To Be Read With
French submarine program 'dangerously off track' warns report urging Australia to consider nuclear alternativeBy defence correspondent 

Andrew Greene

Updated 11 Mar 2020, 9:41am

Australia's $80 billion Future Submarine Program is "dangerously off track" according to a new report that urges the Government to ditch the controversial project and consider a nuclear option.

Key points:

• The report indicates there are fears the current project is at a high risk of failing
• The Defence Minister denies those fears and maintains the project remains on track
• Under a proposed "Plan B" scenario, the company that designed the Collins class submarines would prepare an updated design

Businessman Gary Johnston, who commissioned and funded the study, fears the current plan to build 12 attack class submarines designed by French company Naval Group is at "high risk" of failing.

His report, prepared by Insight Economics, suggests Australia should instead immediately begin work on a "Plan B" — an evolved version of the current Collins class fleet — before eventually acquiring nuclear-powered boats.

Earlier this year, a report from the auditor-general confirmed the Future Submarine Program was running nine months late and Defence was unable to show whether the $396 million spent so far had been "fully effective".

"The Government's own advisory body, including three American admirals, even recommended the Government should consider walking away from the project," Mr Johnston said.

Under the proposed "Plan B", Swedish company Saab Kockums, which designed the navy's Collins class submarines, would be asked to prepare an updated design for the future submarine fleet.

PHOTO: Australia's new fleet of submarines could already be facing an obsolescence problem over its battery power. (Supplied: DCNS)

In 2022-23, both Naval Group and Saab will present their competing preliminary design studies for building the first batch of three submarines in Adelaide — based on a fixed price, capability, delivery and local content.

Mr Johnston, along with former naval officers in the Submarines for Australia organisation, argue that over the long term the Government should begin preparing to acquire nuclear submarines.

With Beijing's growing military assertiveness in the South China Sea, Mr Johnston said the most disturbing finding in the report was that by the 2030s the effectiveness and survivability of Australia's submarines in a high-intensity theatre would be threatened.

"If the Government wants to continue deploying submarines to this theatre alongside the US Navy, the nation's duty of care to the dedicated men and women of the ADF means we will need to begin the long and difficult process of acquiring nuclear-powered submarines," Mr Johnston said.

"With our very small nuclear industry, that will not be easy — but we can make a start."

Government rejects report, issues warning

The Submarines for Australia report will be formally launched by ANU Emeritus Professor Hugh White at the National Press Club today, but it is already drawing fire from the Morrison Government.

Australia's submarine requirements explained

With the winning bidder for Australia's next fleet of submarines announced, attention turns to how it will meet Australia's high-endurance requirements.

"I totally reject the premise that this project is 'dangerously off track', as stated in the new Submarines for Australia report", Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said.

"The delivery of the attack class submarine remains on track, with construction set to commence in 2023."

Senator Reynolds said the technical feasibility of delivering an evolved Collins class submarine was reviewed in 2013-14, but a review found it would be equivalent to a whole new design, involving similar costs and risks, without a commensurate gain in capability.

"This assessment by Submarines for Australia will only increase cost, delay the delivery, and put at risk our submarine capability."

The Defence Minister also flatly rejected any suggestion of a nuclear-powered submarine in the future.

"As has been the policy of successive Australian Governments, a nuclear-powered submarine is not being considered as an option for the attack class submarine," Senator Reynolds said.

Topics: government-and-politics, defence-industry, defence-forces, defence-and-national-security, australia, france

First posted 11 Mar 2020, 2:28am

While the terms of the contracts have been kept confidential it does appear that Covid-19 is a Force Majeure event that the Morrison Government could rely on to terminate the contracts at minimal penalty, if any.

As reported by very many (see for example story below) the contracts are riddled with problems, and the economic consequences of Covid-19 will amplify those problems. 

Covid-19: Singaporeans continue to work the economy while Australians join Great Depression type dole queues ;Singapore barred and quarantined entrants from China;Australia let 30,000 plus Chinese breach Wuhan Virus controls

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Commuters getting around as usual  on the MRT in Singapore on Friday, 20 March 2020

                               Echoes of Great Depression as Australian jobless queue for help

To Be Read With

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Singapore's population density is 7 times that of Sydney but Spore has controlled Wuhan Virus without resorting to Sydney's billion dollar loss causing lockdown: Spore placed visitors from Wuhan & China under mandatory quarantine , NSW & Australia will not

Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy (right) and Health Minister Greg Hunt.

AAP-Murphy seemed more concerned about xenophobia and racism, but then he was probably seeking refuge in the WHO's International Health Rules.

Based on a total site area of 12,367.7 sq km, the current population density of the Greater Sydney area is 407 persons per sq km which includes a number of surrounding national parks. The built urban area is estimated at 4,064 square kilometres which translates to a density of 1,237 persons per square kilometre.Apr 26, 2018


The population density in Singapore is 8358 per Km² (21,646 people per mi²).

Sydney is subject to what s effectively a total lockdown in order to enforce separation of "social isolation", Singapore is not. Meanwhile Australia's Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy continues to insist that Australians need not worry about community contagion or spreading from this airborne virus. 
Singapore is continuing to trade, Sydney and the rest of Australia has warned that business will effectively be shut down for six months or more.
Singapore was one of the first places to ban incoming flights from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus originated. And it placed people coming into the country from countries affected by Covid-19 into mandatory quarantine.

Thousands of people flew out of Wuhan to cities around the world after the initial outbreak ,2,200 to Sydney. The Sydney arrivals were to be expected given the direct flights from Wuhan to Sydney (see below).

Australia imposed travel bans from and to China on 1 February 2020, two days after Singapore, but however did not impose mandatory quarantine, and even then ban seemed riddled with leaks and loopholes:
More than 31,000 Chinese students have made their way back to Australia after spending a fortnight in a third country, despite the government's travel ban.



Sydney workers and businesses are paying the price of the NSW and Australian Government's refusal to clearly identify and quarantine likely Wuhan Virus carriers from Wuhan and other parts of China. 


END



SEE ALSO 

Coronavirus travel ban eased for year 11, 12 students from China

1500 Chinese students beat travel ban - The Australian

 by Ganesh Sahathevan

Feb 23, 2020 - The broad ban on direct travel between China and Australia still remains (except for Australian citizens and permanent residents) but the ...

Sydney Airport welcomes new Wuhan-Sydney service

• New direct route from Wuhan
• Service expected to bring an additional 21,500 Chinese visitors per year
• Sydney Airport a world leader in Chinese long haul routes

Sydney Airport today welcomed a new direct China Eastern Airlines service from Wuhan, to coincide with Lunar New Year celebrations.

The Wuhan-Sydney route will have three-weekly services and will be operated by an A330-200 with 232 seats.

Sydney Airport Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kerrie Mather welcomed the new route, which followed the introduction of new China Eastern services from Hangzhou and Kunming in 2016.

“We’re delighted to welcome the Wuhan-Sydney service, particularly as we celebrate Lunar New Year,” Ms Mather said.

“This new route provides direct access to the most populous city in Central China and a major business and transportation hub.

“The Wuhan service is expected to bring 21,500 visitors and $86 million in additional visitor expenditure per year, and provides additional capacity during this peak period for Chinese travellers.”

Wuhan is the provincial capital of Hubei and is located at the junction of the Yangtze and Hanshui rivers. It’s known as the exit point for Yangtze River boat cruises, with the river featuring several huge bridges up to 1.9km long.

Sydney Airport now serves 14 cities in mainland China, with Chinese passengers making up the largest group of foreign in-bound passengers to Sydney Airport.

China Eastern Airlines General Manager – Oceania Kathy Zhang said the new service provided more choice for Chinese passengers.

“With our new Wuhan services, China Eastern Airlines is pleased to now offer 26 weekly flights between China and Sydney,” Ms Zhang said.

“Together with our partner Qantas we currently offer 40 direct weekly services to six mainland Chinese cities from Sydney, providing more convenience than ever.”

China Eastern Airlines is China’s second largest airline measured by seats and part of the SkyTeam alliance. The new route further expands China Eastern Airlines’ joint venture partnership with Qantas, which also serves Sydney-Shanghai and Sydney-Beijing.

This year is the China Australia Year of Tourism, celebrating the relationship between the two countries and the importance of the China tourism market.

Sydney Airport has implemented a range of initiatives to welcome Chinese passengers, including Mandarin speaking Airport Ambassadors, signage and information available in simplified Chinese, support of events such as Lunar New Year, and appropriate retail, food and beverage offerings.

Flight schedule (all times local):

Wuhan (to commence 28 January 2017)

Monday, Wednesday and Friday: MU749 departs Wuhan at 2340, arrives in Sydney at 1330 the next day

Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday: MU750 departs Sydney at 2215, arrives in Wuhan 0545 the next day