Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party, Minister for Industry) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. It was just recently that we both had the opportunity to attend the space science and space industry conference in Adelaide. There were about 1,000 participants at that conference, and that indicates quite clearly the momentum that is gathering in Australia for the Australian space industry and the space sector.

Space is about making sure that we are improving life here on earth, and it's especially important—crucial, in fact—for our farmers and those in regional and rural Australia. Our investment in space technology is a perfect example of our multipronged approach to helping and supporting our farmers. We're providing the direct support they need now to assist them during the drought, while making sure that we're also putting in place the technology they're going to need for the future. So we're making our economy stronger now, as well as making sure we are building a resilient economy for the future.

Space technology is being used on a daily basis by our farmers; in fact, space technology has been used for quite some time by our farmers. We have remote sensing satellites. They provide some pretty key data that's used by our farmers to monitor soil, drought and crop development. From our satellites we have rainfall assessments that help farmers plan the timing and the amount of irrigation they're going to need for their crops. Accurate information and analysis are so critical in being able to predict what a region's agricultural output is going to be, and to be able to do that well in advance. Much of that information is now coming from the space technologies that we have in place. Importantly, our space technologies are improving our remote communications. They're improving our health care and they're improving mining and oil and gas exploration. These are all critically important.

Recently, the Prime Minister announced there would be $150 million to support Australian businesses as they assist NASA in the Moon to Mars mission and, potentially, beyond. That is $150 million to grow the space sector here in Australia that will go to Australian businesses. That sector currently is worth $4 billion and employs 10,000 people, and we are growing that sector to make sure that by 2030 it has tripled in size, to $12 billion, and employs an extra 20,000 people. That $150 million is a smart investment.

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