AUSTRALIA’S Ambassador to the Republic of Palau, Richelle Turner is currently in the Nambucca Valley visiting her family on a two-week holiday, hoping to promote her island home to fellow Australians.

A new direct weekly flight from Brisbane to Palau began in May and the former Macksville High student is making good use of the convenience by spending time in her hometown of Scotts Head.
Palau is a tiny nation consisting of more than 300 islands, located between the Philippines and Indonesia.

In World War Two, the United States took control of the region from the Japanese.

In January 1981 the Republic of Palau was established.

The official languages spoken are English and Palauan, with some islands retaining local languages.

An avid marathon runner, Richelle has completed marathons on seven continents.

Motivated to contact NOTA after seeing coverage of a plan to install a bike and walkway between Scotts Head and Macksville, the amateur athlete was keen to voice her support of the idea.
“I think it will be fantastic,” she said.

“A real drawcard for the area.

“Walking is an enjoyable and most importantly cheap activity that tourists will love to come to the area for,” she said.

After taking up residence in the world’s fourth smallest country four years ago, Richelle was tasked with further establishing relations between Australia and Palau.

“When I first arrived in Palau, the Embassy was just a bedroom in my apartment but since then we have grown to six staff – three Australians, three Palauans and we have a downtown office,” she told NOTA.

The region is dependent on tourism and like many other such locations, it was hit hard by the airline shutdowns of 2020 and 2021.

Now she and others are working to rebuild this industry as well as strengthen Australia’s links to the country of just 18,000 people.

She hopes more people can be convinced to use the six-hour Nauru Airlines flight from Brisbane so that it can continue.

Known for its pristine waters and outstanding marine life, visitors to Palau are asked to commit to a “pledge” to leave nothing but footprints in the environmentally conscious island paradise.

According to Richelle, through a bilateral fund, Australia contributed $2.1 million in aid this past financial year to Palau, but if regional and global programs are included in the tally it would be much more.

Of note, in June of this year, Richelle found herself in the role of facilitating court appearances for Australian journalist and publisher, Julian Assange.

After more than a decade of legal to-ing and fro-ing, the Wikileaks founder travelled from England to Saipan, agreed to a plea deal with the United States and was finally allowed to return to his home country of Australia to be with his young family.

One of the perks of the job for Richelle is getting to travel and see the world, and she is always looking forward to her next marathon adventure.

“I’m off to the London Marathon in April,” she said, “which is also when this five-year posting will end.”

“People ask me how I got to do this (become an Australian ambassador) and where did I study – I tell them Macksville High School and Griffith University.”

By Ned COWIE