Great news for the guys at EMQ and in the industry in general!!!
It would appear to most that EMQ are leading the way in EMS/SAR in terms of best equipment (Government funding always helps...and it should be this way anyway) and also in relation to best practice.
The aircrew officers at EMQ have already been acting as co-pilots in a non-flying fashion for years, as have many other aircrewman across the Australian industry for many years following the advent of multi-engine IFR operations in EMS/SAR. Its a step in the right direction and the organisation should be applauded for the all hard work that would have gone into getting this through the Government bureaucracy.
Well done guys and all the best.
PS. Lucky crewies for sure, but they will certainly have their work cut out for them starting out on such an advanced machine...given their operational backgrounds, it probably will not prove to be much of problem.