Reception for the International Air Cadet Exchange Association annual conference

Representatives from the Australian and International Air Force Cadet programs; ladies and gentlemen.

Kaye and I are delighted to welcome you all to Government House this evening.

It is a wonderful pleasure for us to host this reception at Fernberg on the occasion of the 2018 International Air Cadet Exchange Association conference.

Like you, I continue to have a great passion for all things aviation.

Indeed, one of my great sources of pride in this Vice-Regal role is to be Honorary Air Commodore of 23 City of Brisbane Squadron and Patron of the Association.

In the past month I have been privileged as Governor to visit both RAAF Base Scherger at Weipa and RAAF Base Amberley in Ipswich.

Scherger is an immense, brooding establishment – a 3,000-metre runway manned day to day by only four personnel – compared to Amberley, which employs more than 5,000 people as the Royal Australian Air Force’s largest base.

While Queensland is vital to our country’s defence capabilities, our State also lays claim to the birthplace of Qantas – Australia’s largest airline and one of the oldest carriers in the world – in the Central West Shire of Winton.

It is only fitting then that Queensland should be chosen to host your aviation conference this year, continuing a fine tradition which began with a meeting in Montreal in 1946 between representatives from the United Kingdom and Canada.

Today, the International Air Cadet Exchange Association has expanded to include 18 member countries, and it continues to play a significant role in the sharing and development of skills while also forging and fostering life-long friendships.

It is organisations like yours which bring people closer together – it is the very reason we are all here at Government House today, visitors from across Queensland and Australia, and international conference delegates from further afield.

I commend you all for your good work, and congratulate you on your impressive record of achievement, dedication and leadership.

Your passion for aviation and willingness to expand your horizons and experience different cultures will only provide positive outcomes, and I trust your time in Brisbane will be highly rewarding.

Kaye and I wish you the very best at the conference, and beyond.

‘Keep the blue side up!’

Thank you.