Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources, I present the committee's report entitled The now frontier: developing Australia's space industry, together with the minutes of the proceedings.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—Today I present the report of the Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources, entitled The now frontier: developing Australia's space industry. On 11 November 2020, the committee adopted an inquiry into developing Australia's space industry, referred by the then Minister for Industry, Science and Technology the Hon. Karen Andrews MP. The committee was asked to focus on how the Australian government can support and encourage the space industry while preserving and protecting the space environment.

Space is an industry that inspires, fascinates and excites people. Generally, rockets and astronauts come to mind when we think about the space industry. But, in fact, its technology and equipment are very much part of our day-to-day lives. There are enormous opportunities for individuals, organisations and communities to take advantage of this growing sector, particularly in regional and rural areas.

Australians are most familiar with our nation's involvement in the moon landing in 1969, before my time. Tracking stations at Honeysuckle Creek and Parkes in New South Wales relayed images back to Earth of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon. This followed the rocket testing program in the late 1950s at Woomera in South Australia as part of the Australian government's weapons research establishment.

Perhaps less familiar to Australians is the continued use of space based technologies and applications in our daily lives. Mobile phones, the internet, weather forecasting, GPS technology and banking services all rely on data derived from space. Space related technologies were once considered those of the future—robots, drones, remote sensors and artificial intelligence—but are now very much where we are. For Australia to be competitive, we need to not only foster these technologies and their applications but ensure we have the right people with the right skills and expertise to make it happen.

The pace at which space-based technologies and innovations are developing is set to revolutionise the way we live. Space 2.0 refers to utilising and accessing space here on Earth. It includes a range of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, remote sensing, smart sensors, nanotechnology, micro-electronics, big data, robotics, drones, autonomous systems, quantum computing and the Internet of Things. The significance of Space 2.0 is that it will create the jobs of the future. In addition to improving our lives, this transformation will present real opportunities for Australia to be part of a growing and lucrative global space industry.

Australia needs to position itself to capitalise on these opportunities. Australia enjoys natural and structured advantages that can be leveraged to benefit us socially and economically. Our geography and landscape, education and training system, technical expertise, and international partnerships and agreements all combine to form an important foundation for access to the global space industry supply chains and the development of sustainable commercial activities. Furthermore, Australia is renowned for its innovation, research and development.

The Australian space industry is enjoying a renewed focus and interest. The establishment of the Australian space industry in 2018 has helped to galvanise an industry and signal Australia's commitment to a globally competitive industry. It is fair to say it has invigorated the domestic space industry. I note that we went on a tour of the Australian space industry and it was absolutely fascinating, and I urge anybody who's listening to this to take that opportunity to go to the Australian Space Agency and educate yourself as to the future of Australia's space.

The Australian government has set a goal to grow the domestic space sector by $12 billion and create an additional 20,000 jobs. This report makes recommendations designed to support this growth and beyond. It has identified key reforms that the committee hopes will help the Australian space sector to be more globally competitive while preserving and protecting the space environment. Some of these reforms include the call for an overarching vision of the industry in Australia to inspire confidence in investment in our space capabilities and an increased visibility of space across the government and parliament.

The report acknowledges the importance of the Australian Space Agency, its dedicated staff and the role it has played in strengthening the Australian space industry. At the same time, the committee believes it is time that important consideration be given to the agency's funding, operations and status, including whether it becomes a statutory authority. This is to ensure it can better support the industry and hold its own with other international space agencies.

Importantly, this inquiry helped to uncover that space is an accessible industry to those wishing to pursue a career in this field. The sector presents a lot of opportunities for Australia, and the need to grow a workforce to support it is paramount. Beyond rockets and astronauts, there are many and varied jobs that can be undertaken. The committee has heard that there are a range of professionals not generally associated with space, such as law, medicine, project management, communications and business, that will be able to support and facilitate Australia's space industry to grow an internationally competitive sector.

The report recommends that community education and outreach programs to promote these opportunities are developed and that diversity is sought across the sector. Further, there is so much potential for our rural and regional areas to benefit from and get involved in Australia's space sector. This includes the links between our regional industries and the space sector; the application of space related technology and infrastructure to agriculture, health and telecommunications; and, of course, the uptake of regional education and training to better equip young people to build their careers in this industry. The report calls for an examination of ways to maximise these benefits.

This inquiry was the second undertaken by this committee during COVID-19 conditions, where travel and lockdown restrictions challenged the way we engaged with stakeholders and met as a committee. For the industry, COVID-19 highlighted the vulnerability of Australia's reliance on other countries for space related technology services and global supply chains. It reinforced the need for a sovereign space capability so that Australia has what it needs to design, build and maintain our own space requirements. In turn, the committee has made recommendations with a view to this. For example, we have recommended a national assessment of Australia's current and future space infrastructure requirements, with particular emphasis on developing sovereign capability in identified areas, whilst acknowledging the need for the industry to access a range of infrastructure for research, development and manufacture.

This is an exciting time for the Australian space industry, with awe-inspiring work already being done here. I believe I speak on behalf of the committee in saying that we hope this report acknowledges the wonderful things happening now and that it goes further to encourage and support the future promise and potential of the industry. This bipartisan report, therefore, makes 38 recommendations designed to drive growth and investment, encourage commercialisation of research and development, better facilitate international collaboration and grow a future workforce. In terms of growing a future workforce, it has identified the need for greater education in science, technology, engineering and maths of young people. We had evidence that most of the high-level jobs are filled by those who have been educated overseas. We need to make a change in that regard and encourage education at a university level in both space engineering and aeronautical engineering rather than look overseas. We need to develop better systems and greater awareness of those jobs of the future. It is not just rockets and astronauts. It is law, it is medicine and it is trade. I'm very excited for young people of the future to be involved in the space industry in the future.

The committee appreciates the contribution of the witnesses and those who hosted the committee on site visits and those joining us remotely from the home, studios and office. I would like to thank the former chair, the Hon. Barnaby Joyce MP, for his stewardship of the inquiry and the deputy chair, the Hon. Sharon Bird. Congratulations on your valedictory speech yesterday, Sharon—well done. I'd like to thank all the committee members for all their hard work. I also extend my thanks to all the committee secretariat staff, including Kate Portus, Fran Denny, Peter Richardson, Ashlin Hardiman and Tamara Palmer, for their work in planning the public hearings and the preparation of this report.

The space industry is not the new frontier but the now frontier. Building on the strengths of our industry will have enduring benefits for all Australians. I commend this report to the House.

See this speech in context