Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I had the honour to attend the 2007 Australian International Aerospace and Defence Exposition at Avalon Airport on Sunday, along with 80,000 other people. This largely volunteer-created international defence exposition is a credit to its organisers. There were more than 60 delegations from 30 countries. A record 611 companies from 20 nations were exhibiting at the exposition and 395 of these companies are Australian small and medium enterprises. It was a very good opportunity for these small companies to advertise themselves in the international market. This is a world-class expo, where we saw some fantastic static and flying displays. Particularly seeing the old F111 go to afterburner, even for people who have seen the F111 before, was a great thing. There were over 500 military aircraft on display at Avalon. I want to particularly pay tribute to retired Air Marshal Les Fisher and his great team of volunteers, who are now holding their ninth exposition of the air show at Avalon. I also want to thank Peter Roberts, the former secretary of the Joint Standing Committee on Public Works, who was— (Time expired)