Qld bid to lure more aviation companies north
March 15, 2007
The Queensland government is on a mission to bolster the state’s standing as an aerospace and aviation hub by luring even more of the industry’s major players north.
State Development minister John Mickel told Parliament on Tuesday he would be "selling our state’s aviation and aerospace credentials" with a delegation at the Avalon air show in Victoria next week.
Avalon will be a drawcard for hundreds of companies from around the world, with 13 major aviation, aerospace and defence conferences taking place over three days.
In 2005, the air show attracted 527 participating companies from 22 countries, as well as 34 overseas government, industry and defence delegations.
The Queensland delegation will be hoping at least some of these follow the lead of heavy-hitters like Australian Aerospace, Boeing, Smiths Aerospace, Virgin Blue and Alliance Airlines, who have all established their national headquarters in the state’s southeast.
Mickel said the government had "achieved plenty" since launching its "dedicated aviation strategy" in 2002 with the aim of "positioning Queensland as a major aviation and aerospace hub in the Asia-Pacific".
"The calibre of the companies now operating here and the more than 6000 jobs we have helped to create have exceeded even our highest expectations," he said.
"Today Queensland is home to some of the world’s most technologically-advanced manufacturing, servicing and training facilities."
These include Raytheon’s Aerospace Centre of Excellence; maintenance facilities for QANTAS, Hawker Pacific and Pratt & Whitney; and training facilities for Singapore Flying College and Alteon.
But attracting big names to Queensland was only half the story, Mickel said.
He suggested government investment in training and education had already begun to produce the skilled workforce needed to underpin world class industries.
Aviation Australia, in which the government invested almost $20 million, had produced more than 500 aircraft maintenance engineers since 2001, Mickel said.
This year, Hendra Secondary College became Aviation High - Australia’s only dedicated aviation high school - while aerospace studies is now offered as a senior subject at 17 schools across the state.