AUSTRALIAN AEROSPACE INDUSTRY FORUM NEWSLETTER

ISSUE 1
Welcome to issue one of the Australian Aerospace Industry Forum newsletter. The Forum was established to ensure the continued development of a sustainable aerospace industry, to promote Australian capabilities and to provide a collective industry voice to government on current issues. Ian Honnery of Aerospace Australia Limited chairs the Forum which is comprised of industry leaders and industry associations. The Forum has established five Working Groups, detailed below, to take action on issues facing the industry. Export and Supply Chain Development (Chair John Dwyer, Goodrich Customer Services Asia Pacific) The Working Group is pursuing a range of export and supply chain issues including more efficient access to raw materials and potential opportunities within the growing regional jets market. Association of Aerospace Industries Singapore In September 2007, in the lead up to the Singapore Airshow, John Dwyer represented the Forum at a meeting with the Association of Aerospace Industries where he presented on Australian capabilities. The AAIS have since proposed an inward mission to Australia from 13-18 April. During the Singapore Airshow the Forum hosted a networking event with the AAIS, supported by Austrade, the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) and the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO). The event started with a tour of the Team Australia pavilion followed by refreshments. It was an excellent opportunity for Australian industry to demonstrate their capabilities and develop contacts prior to the upcoming inward mission. Singaporean interest in the inward mission has been so strong that a second mission is also being planned for March 2009, to coincide with the Australian International Airshow at Avalon.

Left to Right: Christopher Soh and Cheryl Stanilewicz of Austrade, Charles Chong, President of the Association of Aerospace Industries Singapore, and John Dwyer of Goodrich in Singapore in September 2007.

Education and Training (Chair Geoff Gillespie, Raytheon Australia) The Working Group is examining the industry's national profile from a skills and recruitment perspective. The Group is studying the national education and training continuum and looking at ways to address the skills shortage. The Forum supported the Careers and Skills Showcase at the Australian International Airshow in March 2007, which was a resounding success. Subsequently the Forum has supported careers expos in Coolum, Queensland and Adelaide in October 2007. The Forum will continue to support the Careers and Skills Showcases with a number planned across Australia this year. The Forum recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Manufacturing Skills Australia (MSA) to ensure collaboration and cooperation on the issue of skills and training as it affects the aerospace industry. Aerospace Defence Industry Engagement (Chair Tony Quick, GKN Aerospace Engineering Services) Joseph Saporito from Australian Aerospace was the inaugural Chair. He has recently returned to France to take up a position as the Head of Civil Programs with Eurocopter. The Working Group seeks to inform the DMO of the aerospace industry's broad capabilities and how these can best support Defence's operational requirements. In March the Working Group made a written submissions to the Review of Air Combat Capability. A copy can of the submission can be found on the Aerospace Defence Industry Engagement Working Group webpage. To view the submission please click here.

The Team Australia Stand, Singapore Airshow February 2008

The Mk26 and Mk26b Spitfires manufactured by Mike OSullivan of Supermarine Aircraft in Brisbane, Queensland.

Certification and Regulation (Chair Malcolm Robertson, Tenix Defence) The Working Groups inaugural chair was David Evans of Hawker de Havilland. David remains a member of the Working Group, in addition to chairing the Aerospace Industry Regulatory and Certification Advisory Panel (AIRCAP). AIRCAP and the Working Group will continue to work together on certification and regulation issues. The Group provides advice on how the Australian aerospace regulatory regime can best assist the international competitiveness of local firms to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. Research and Innovation (Professor Murray Scott, Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures) This fifth Working Group was proposed at the November 2007 Forum meeting and will be chaired by Professor Murray Scott. Any individuals or organisations interested in participating in the Research and Innovation Working Group or contributing ideas or information to any of the Working Groups should please contact the secretariat at aerospace@innovation.gov.au

Change of Government The new Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research is Senator the Hon Kim Carr. The Hon Dr Craig Emerson MP is the new Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors and the Service Economy, and the Minister Assisting the Finance Minister on Deregulation. For more information please go to http://minister.innovation.gov.au The MRH90 troop lift helicopters, assembled and tested for the Australian Army and Navy by Australian Aerospace. The new Minister for Defence is the Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP assisted by the Hon Mike Kelly MP as Parliamentary Secretary and the Hon Greg Combet MP as Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement. For more information please go to www.defence.gov.au/minister The new Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government is the Hon Anthony Albanese MP assisted by the Hon Gary Gray AO MP as Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Northern Australia. For more information please go to www.minister.infrastructure.gov.au

Forum Membership The Forum membership comprises a range of companies including the Australian subsidiaries of large international firms as well as local small to medium enterprises and representative associations. Participating industry and professional associations include Advanced Manufacturing Australia (AMAus), Australian Business Limited (Defence Industry Unit), Australian Defence Information and Electronic Systems Association (ADIESA), Australian Industry Defence Network (AIDN), Australian Industry Group (Defence Council), Aviation Maintenance Repair Overhaul Business Association (AMROBA), Manufacturing Skills Australia (MSA), and the Royal Aeronautical Society. If you would like to be involved in the Forum or a particular Working Group please contact the secretariat at the address below. The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, featuring the Movable Trailing Edge Shipsets as manufactured in Australia by Hawker de Havilland, a tier one supplier to the Boeing 787 program. Future Events Association of Aerospace Industries Singapore, inward mission to Australia, 13-18 April 2008 Australian Aerospace Industry Forum meeting, TBA mid 2008

Contact Details: Australian Aerospace Industry Forum C/- Aerospace and Marine Industries, Manufacturing Division Industry House, 10 Binara Street, CANBERRA ACT 2600 Ph: 02 6213 7235 Email: aerospace@innovation.gov.au Web: www.innovation.gov.au/aerospacefourum