For those people criticising the RAAF for "locking up huge sections of airspace", the responsible agency for allocating airspace in Australia is not the military but is the
CASA Office of Airspace Regulation. See
Civil Aviation Safety Authority - About the OAR. The relevant section in the
Commonwealth Airspace Regulations 2007 (
Airspace Regulations 2007) is Section 6 which states:
6 Designation of prohibited, restricted or danger areas
(1) CASA may, in writing, make a declaration designating an area of Australian territory to be a prohibited area, a restricted area or a danger area.
(2) CASA must not declare an area to be a prohibited area unless, in the opinion of CASA, it is necessary for reasons of military necessity to prohibit the flight of aircraft over the area.
(3) CASA must not declare an area to be a restricted area unless, in the opinion of CASA, it is necessary to restrict the flight of aircraft over the area to aircraft flown in accordance with specified conditions in the interests of any of the following:
(a) public safety, including the safety of aircraft in flight;
(b) the protection of the environment;
(c) security.
So, for anybody trying to reduce the amount of RAAF restricted airspace, there is a consultation process described on CASA's website
Civil Aviation Safety Authority - Consultation rather than creating controversy in a TV program that should have been a positive story about finding the wreckage from Australia's only unsolved air crash.