Senator DEAN SMITH (Western Australia—Chief Government Whip in the Senate) (20:56): Before we adjourn this evening I will make a few brief remarks to commemorate what is a very important event in the history of flying in Western Australia. I know Senator Sterle, who is the Acting Deputy President this evening, will join with me in acknowledging and congratulating the West Australian Gliding Association on its 75th anniversary. I was delighted to be invited to attend the luncheon that was held on the weekend in Western Australia to celebrate this outstanding milestone. I was delighted to be invited for two reasons. The first was that the invitation was extended to me by Mr Stuart Usher, who is a close and trusted friend of mine. I hope I don't embarrass him by saying this, but Stuart and I went to high school together at Mirrabooka High School and have been great close and trusted friends ever since—that's almost 40 years. As a senator from Western Australia I was also delighted to be given the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate this very, very important historical milestone and to recognise that professional organisations and volunteer organisations like the gliding association of Western Australia play a very, very important role in building the fabric of volunteerism that makes Western Australia such a wonderful place to live and raise a family. We're honouring a number of things when we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the West Australian Gliding Association. We honour the miracle that is men and women taking to the skies. In honouring that contribution, the members of the West Australian Gliding Association know better than anyone the truth that is held in the remark by Leonardo da Vinci: Once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards; for there you have been, and there you long to return. Of course, we also honour the gliding association for being the oldest gliding club in Western Australia and the second-oldest gliding club in the country. From beginnings in Fremantle, Maylands, Crawley, Subiaco, City Beach, Pingelly and Kalgoorlie to its first humble home in Caversham in 1949 and the wide open and sunburnt landscapes of Cunderdin in 1959, the gliding association of Western Australia has been the meeting place for enthusiasts young and old—men and women who have been brave, and some, I'm sure, who have been very hesitant about the gliding experience. As an association, it has lived the experience of the evolution of the craft of gliding, from the 1934 Buick utility to the Kookaburra training and soaring seaplane and the aptly named VT-TUG Tiger Moth. More than all this, we honour the commitment, professionalism and volunteering that have meant the joy of gliding can be enjoyed by Western Australians over the generations. From where I stand, the gliding club of Western Australia resembles a close-knit group of enthusiasts committed to sustaining their sport for present and future generations of glider pilots. To the volunteers who came back from World War II to help re-establish gliding in Western Australia, to the volunteers who helped move the gliding club to Cunderdin Airfield in 1959, to the volunteers who have worked and planned tirelessly over the years to promote gliding in the skies across Western Australia, at the Sunday luncheon on the weekend just gone we paid tribute, and we honoured all of them. For my part, I pledge to support the volunteers of today and tomorrow, to do all that I can to support this wonderful sport and to ensure that it will grow and avail every Western Australian of the enjoyment that is in gliding. But, to be honest, I think it will take a little bit of an effort to get me into a glider and into the skies. As accustomed to travelling as we all are, I do enjoy looking out the window and seeing a big engine. I do enjoy looking out the window and seeing a big wingspan. I'm not even sure my dear and trusted closest friend Stuart will be able to get me into a glider, though I'm confident he's a very, very competent pilot. I think it might be just a step too far for me, but I do look forward to joining Stuart and other members of the Western Australian Gliding Association at Cunderdin Airfield in the very, very near future. I'm sure I speak on behalf of all senators in congratulating the Western Australian Gliding Association and honouring it on its 75th anniversary. Senate adjourned at 21:01