Avalon is not just the title of a 1980s Roxy Music album. It’s also an airport in Melbourne which hosts an important aerospace and defence show every two years.
That’s quite fitting really as, in Arthurian legend, Avalon is the mythical place where King Arthur’s sword Excalibur was forged, so the name has a longstanding relationship with the defence industry.
Given the UK’s strengths in both defence sales and aerospace, where we have the second largest industry in the world, British companies were a strong presence at the show.
BAE System’s Australian operations constitute the largest defence business in the country. And a number of other UK companies have significant activities and sales here in this field, including QinetiQ, Babcock, Rolls Royce and Serco.
I always enjoy attending trade shows and going round meeting the various companies on their stands.
I did a lot of that when I was on the board of UK Trade & Investment. You get a real feel for what’s happening on the ground and where individual companies see their best prospects.
I was pleased to hear a number of companies commenting favourably on the assistance they receive from our Defence Sales Organisation team (part of UKTI) and from our military staff.
I hosted a large networking reception in central Melbourne, and was delighted to be joined by local minister for Manufacturing, Exports and Trade, Richard Dalla-Riva.
In parallel with the show, there was a high level conference, attended by Sir Stephen Dalton, head of Britain’s Royal Air Force. Against the backdrop of the Defence Treaty which our Defence Ministers signed in Perth in January, there are excellent prospects for closer UK/Australia collaboration on defence procurement, which offers lots of opportunities for business.