RED carpets and the orchestral fanfare of Advance Australia Fair were nowhere to be seen or heard when Kevin Rudd made a stop-over visit to Warrnambool last week.
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Instead a low-key entrance including a few happy snaps with well-wishers at Warrnambool Airport was the only greeting the Prime Minister had during his first visit to the south-west’s largest city.
Mr Rudd stepped onto the tarmac at Warrnambool Airport at 12.50pm on Friday surprising the few passengers and staff assembled at the new terminal building.
Air Warrnambool staff Melissa and Tony Franc, Liam Fitzgerald and Brian Atkins were among only a handful of people to get a photo opportunity with Australia’s leader during the three-hour whirlwind tour.
Mr Franc said the Prime Minister was quite happy to smile for the cameras as he made his way to the city to visit Joan and Leon Davey’s residence in north Warrnambool.
“He’s a very nice bloke,” Mr Franc said.
“We only had a few seconds to chat but he was very obliging with photos and stood with us when The Standard was there.
“He told us it was his first visit to Warrnambool but he had a tight schedule and couldn’t chat for too long.”
Mr Franc said a number of VIPs had used the new terminal since it opened a little over a year ago.
