E&OE TRANSCRIPT
PRESS CONFERENCE
RICHMOND
MONDAY, 7 APRIL 2025
SUBJECTS: RAAF Base Richmond Air Show
SUSAN TEMPLEMAN, MEMBER FOR MACQUARIE: I'm Susan Templeman, the member for Macquarie and I'm really delighted to have the Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles, here at Richmond RAAF Base, the heart of the Hawkesbury and the home to the Hercs. I'm very excited that we are here to announce something that has not occurred at the Richmond RAAF Base since 1991 and that is that a re-elected Albanese Government will throw its support behind a commemorative air show that will help mark 100 years of this Richmond RAAF Base. The air show will be held later this year on the last weekend in September, and it really builds on the community connection that the RAAF Base has had. I know residents across the Hawkesbury have for many years said to me, why can't we have another air show? It's taken months of work by the RAAF air show team to be able to work out where it happens, how it happens, which part of our skies, planes will fly in, where people are going to park. And I'm just really thrilled to know that this work is underway, and I look forward to the community being able to really celebrate the role RAAF Base Richmond has in our community to see the cutting edge of today's aircraft on the ground and in the skies. And I'm delighted, you can probably tell us a thing or two about air shows. Richard.
RICHARD MARLES, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's great to be here with Susan Templeman, our wonderful member for Macquarie. And Susan is such a champion for RAAF Base Richmond and the Air Force community which surrounds RAAF Base Richmond. And we are really excited to be able to announce today that a re-elected Albanese Labor Government will see the air show being held here by the RAAF on the 27th and 28th of September. This builds on the open day, which occurred here last year. But this is first and foremost, a celebration of the centenary of RAAF Base Richmond, a base which began its life in 1925 and since then, has played such an integral part in the life of the Royal Australian Air Force, but more broadly in the life of the Australian Defence Force. And that is a part which will continue to be played, because RAAF Base Richmond is here to stay. We have invested almost 10 billion in a new fleet of Hercules aircraft and RAAF Base Richmond is the home of the Hercules, and will be the future home of the Hercules in terms of the additional fleet that, or the new fleet that we have invested in, it is also a place which does a range of other Air Force capabilities and contributes so significantly to defence. And of course, two months ago, we also announced that RAAF Base Richmond, along with RAAF Bases Albatross and Williamtown, will be a centre for operations for the Rural Fire Service in New South Wales in moments of natural disaster. And that formalises what has actually been the case. We've seen how RAAF Base Richmond has been utterly essential in terms of the response to emergencies in both fire and flood over the last few years, this is a base which is so important for the future of the defence force, so important for the future of the Royal Australian Air Force. In celebrating its centenary, we look forward to the next 100 years and the role that RAAF Base Richmond will continue to play. And the air show that will be held on the 27th-28th September, will be a fantastic operation of that.
TEMPLEMAN: And I'll just add because I know locals will have lots of questions, and aircraft enthusiasts will have questions about it. This is being put together in a collaborative way by the RAAF air show team, and they're working with Hawkesbury city council and with the Hawkesbury show ground people, because we have incredible ability here to be able to use lands that are around it. I look forward to sharing more information and steering people to the details of what's coming very soon.
**correction** the last air show at Richmond RAAF Base was 2006, not 1991.
