Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
All Photo Stories
Brisbane’s ‘Xmas orphans’ gather for lunch
Wesley Mission volunteers in Brisbane have served ham, prawns and plum puddings as “Michael Buble and Mariah Carey wannabes” sang karaoke Christmas carols. December 25, 2019 Brisbane’s “Christmas Day orphans” have gathered to share a festive meal and sing away loneliness at Wesley Mission. Volunteers served ham, prawns and plum puddings to about 150 smiling […]
Timor trip inspires ex-soldier to remember
A former digger’s return to East Timor 20 years after Australian-led peacekeepers left has stirred her passion for Remembrance Day. November 10, 2019 Former soldier Kate Kilpatrick was a fresh-faced private when her battalion was deployed to the chaos of East Timor following an independence referendum two decades ago. The Australian-led international force was tasked […]
Bushfire-ravaged Qld community struggling
A Gold Coast hinterland bushfire has been extinguished, but residents are battling a mammoth and costly task of making their homes liveable again. October 8, 2019 A month after a massive Gold Coast bushfire destroyed eight on her street, Binna Burra resident Sharon Innis is struggling in the aftermath of the massive blaze. The 43-year-old cleaner […]
Sailors rescued by cruise ship back home
Three sailors rescued from a life raft by a passing cruise ship after their boat sank near New Caledonia says the incident won’t stop them taking to the sea. September 28, 2019 Three rescued sailors plucked from the sea by a passing cruise ship after their boat struck trash and sank near New Caledonia say […]
Nervous wait for Qlders in bushfire zones
A Gold Coast hinterland resident evacuated due to a bushfire threat says she has her most precious possession with her. September 7, 2019 Binna Burra resident Sophie Bryden doesn’t know if her home is still standing. And she may not find out for days due to the ongoing bushfire threat near her property. “You don’t know what […]
Qld mayor praises firefighters and residents
A Queensland mayor has paid an emotional tribute to firefighters after a bushfire destroyed at least 10 homes in the area. September 7, 2019 A Queensland mayor has told residents it is too risky to return to their homes while paying an emotional tribute to the firefighters who battled a ferocious blaze that destroyed at […]
Two homes lost in Qld bushfires
Two homes have been destroyed by fires, an emergency has been declared and a town told to seek shelter from bushfires raging in Queensland. September 6, 2019 Two homes have been destroyed and a town is without power as bushfires raging across Queensland threaten lives and property. The border town of Stanthorpe was without power on […]
Sky gold as fire bears down on Qld town
The Queensland border town of Stanthorpe has lost power and residents have been told stay put because as a potentially deadly fire approaches the town. September 6, 2019 The sky above the Queensland border town of Stanthorpe is gold and not in a good way as a potentially deadly bushfire bears down on homes. Residents […]
Coroner urges overhaul of trawler safety
An inquest into the eight deaths after two vessels sank off Queensland has wrapped up, with the mother of a diver saying more safety measures were needed. March 29, 2019 A Queensland coroner is considering the words of the mother of a fisherman lost when a trawler capsized off Queensland who said the crew deserved […]
Sunk Qld trawler hit by king wave
A Queensland inquest into the deaths of six fishermen on a trawler that sank in rough seas has heard a rogue wave may have rolled the boat. March 28, 2019 A large wave is likely to have smashed a fishing trawler moments before it capsized off the Queensland coast with the loss of six men, […]
Crewman’s mum urges better trawler safety
An inquest into the eight deaths after two vessels sank off Queensland has wrapped up, with the mother of a diver saying more safety measures were needed. March 28, 2019 The mother of a fisherman lost when a trawler capsized off Queensland says he and the other talented crew deserved to have been rescued, not […]
Divers find Qld trawler victims by touch
An inquest investigating the deaths of six fishermen off the Queensland coast has heard police divers found two bodies by touch. March 27, 2019 A Queensland police diver who found the first of six men missing after a fishing trawler capsized found a large air pocket in the hull next to two bodies but says […]
Air pocket near Qld trawler crew’s bodies
An inquest investigating the deaths of six fishermen off the Queensland coast has heard police divers found two bodies by touch as the water was so dark. March 27, 2019 A Queensland police diver who found the first of six men missing after a fishing trawler capsized found a large air pocket in the hull […]
Sunk Qld trawler survivor relives tragedy
The surviving fisherman from a trawler that sank off the Queensland coast could hear his mates trapped inside the upturned vessel, an inquest has heard. March 26, 2019 The sole survivor of a fishing trawler tragedy that killed six of his crewmates off the Queensland coast has relived his escape from the upturned vessel. Ruben […]
Sunk Qld trawler survivor heard trapped mates
The surviving fisherman from a trawler that sank off the Queensland coast could hear his mates trapped inside the upturned vessel. March 26, 2019 The sole survivor of a fishing boat tragedy that claimed the lives of six men off the Queensland coast heard his mates’ screams as he clung to the upturned vessel’s hull […]
Sunk Qld trawler fished dangerous waters
A Queensland inquest into the deaths of two fishermen on a trawler that sank in rough seas has heard the vessel should not have been fishing off Fraser Island. March 20, 2019 Two Queensland men lost in rough seas when their prawn trawler sank should never have been fishing in the treacherous stretch of ocean […]
Busted screw might have sunk Qld trawler
A Queensland inquest into the deaths of two fishermen on a trawler that sank in rough seas has heard a common screw breaking could have caused the tragedy. March 20, 2019 A simple turnbuckle breaking under load in heavy seas could have caused the deaths of two Queensland men who disappeared when their converted prawn […]
Loose freezer flies as Qld trawler rolls
A Queensland inquest into the death of two fishermen on a trawler that sank in rough seas has heard a loose freezer could have contributed to the tragedy. March 20, 2019 An unsecured kitchen freezer on board a Queensland trawler that sank with the loss of two men could have become a missile inside the […]
Trawler’s emergency hatch welded shut
A Queensland inquest into the deaths of two fishermen on a trawler that sank in rough seas has heard the vessel had an out-of-date safety system. March 19, 2019 When FV Cassandra sank, killing the two men aboard three years ago, it had a skipper who didn’t know the notoriously rough seas, its forward escape […]
Qld body donors’ graves left derelict
A Queensland woman says more respect needs to be shown for bodies donated to science after discovering her mother was buried in a derelict unmarked grave. November 19, 2018 A Queensland woman who searched for her mother’s remains for more than 40 years before finding them in a derelict unmarked grave says more respect needs […]
March on Dutton’s office for Tamil family
Supporters of a Tamil family who are facing deportation have called on Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to intervene in their case. September 8, 2018 Friends and supporters of a Tamil family, who are facing deportation, have marched through the rain to Peter Dutton’s Brisbane office. Singing The Seekers hit I am, you are, we […]
Indonesia tougher than Somalia for refugees
After Somalian militants burned down her hotel, Igra fled to Indonesia for safety, but the former business owner has fallen through the aid safety net. April 2, 2018 Somalian refugee Igra hadn’t heard of Indonesia before being dumped in Jakarta by people smugglers. The former hotel owner fled her civil war-wracked country in 2015 after militants threatened to cut off her […]
Refugees in Indonesia selling sex to survive
Somalian refugees fleeing war and violence are being taken by people smugglers to Indonesia where many turn to sex work to survive. April 2, 2018 Homeless mother-of-three, Sahra, fled to Indonesia for safety after Islamists killed her family in Somalia, but with prostitution as the only way to survive, she tearily says life in Jakarta is “much […]
Refugees in Indonesia may be put to work
The UNHCR wants refugees in Indonesia to be able to work for food and shelter as resettlement options dry up and international aid budgets are stretched. April 2, 2018 Refugees in Indonesia may be put to work as the UN Refugee Agency battles a growing global humanitarian crisis, fewer resettlement options and stretched aid budgets. The humanitarian agency has asked the […]