Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I bring great news from Dawson. Two brothers, Adam and James Gilmour, from Gilmour Space Technologies, are taking on the world's space race by building a orbital space port at Abbot Point, located 20 kilometres north of Bowen and 20 degrees south of the equator. This is the ideal place to launch small satellites into low-space orbits. Why small satellites? There's more technology in this phone than what was used to put man on the moon, so size does matter. These satellites will be able to be used for communications, for weather determination, for monitoring the health of the Great Barrier Reef, and for fire detection. Within a few minutes after a fire breaks out, a satellite can contact the authorities and then action can be taken. There is a sovereign risk if we do not get behind this project. We could be vulnerable and we could be left behind.

In 2023 the first small rocket, Eris, will be launched from this site, and there will be many, many more rockets. There are opportunities for tourism—for people to come to Dawson and watch these rockets go up, viewed from Mount Nuts, Flagstaff Hill and many other sites. There are also defence opportunities. To the stars, Gilmour Space!

See this speech in context