Amberely airspace - it is brave pilot asks Australian controllers for clearance through controlled airspace. They are just sitting there with there with Violations pad on desk and pens poised. Wasn't there a pilot killed in NSW a while back, denied clearance into CTA, hit a ridge going around it?
Not true at all, at least in my experience. I was through Amberley myself in a private VFR single only a few weeks ago and not only did they give me a clearance without hesitation, but an inbound C17 very kindly cancelled IFR so that I didn’t have to get vectored off track for him. They couldn’t have been more helpful, and that has been my experience with military-controlled airspace elsewhere as well. However, it is possible that the description of these areas as “restricted areas” when really, they are just another form of controlled airspace, and the accompanying red boxes on the map (or red shading if you are using ozrunways or Avplan) may be a bit intimidating to some, and convey the impression that they are areas to be avoided at all costs. A similar point was raised regarding the C210 accident in Darwin a few years ago. It is surely better to ask for a clearance through a restricted area or control zone than to fly into a thunderstorm or a hill, but if you don’t tell the controllers what you need, then it’s hard for them to help you.