Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that the Government has recognised the value of Australia's growing space sector by including space as one of the six national priority manufacturing sectors in the $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy;

(2) welcomes the Government's goal of tripling the space industry by 2030 to $12 billion;

(3) congratulates the new head of the Australian Space Agency, Mr Enrico Palermo on his appointment and notes his significant industry and corporate experience in the sector;

(4) commends the Government for enabling Australian businesses to become part of the international space supply chain and have a role in NASA's Moon to Mars mission; and

(5) further welcomes the release of the Space Sector Industry Road Map and the opening of grants for this sector under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative's Translation and Integration streams.

The vision of Apollo 11 on the Moon inspired a generation. The eagle landed and Neil Armstrong etched his words and his boot print into the history books, but without Australia the world would have been deprived of witnessing one of the most incredible testaments to the human spirit. The talented, hardworking and pioneering Australians at the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station, less than an hour's drive from our parliament, beamed the first eight minutes of the Moon landing footage to millions of people around the world, absolutely transfixed on what they were seeing. A young Andy Thomas, a university student at the time, was enthralled and inspired by the footage. In his own words, he 'couldn't imagine doing anything more exciting'. As we know, Dr Andy Thomas AO went on to undertake four NASA space missions.

Australia played a pivotal role in this tremendous milestone in space. Now, with Morrison government's support, we will continue to be at the forefront of this emerging and new space industry that will create and sustain Australian jobs and inspire the next generation. We have a plan to triple the size of Australia's space industry by 2030, growing it to $12 billion and creating up to another 20,000 new jobs. This will provide opportunities in all sectors of the space industry, from advanced manufacturing to research. The Morrison government's Modern Manufacturing Initiative is focusing on building our sovereign manufacturing capability in six priority areas. These areas of competitive advantage or strategic importance to Australia include space.

Not only is the space industry a pioneer of scientific and technological advancements; it brings industries like manufacturing along with it to create and sustain more jobs. The Morrison government is investing $150 billion to back Australian businesses in joining NASA's endeavours to do exactly that, creating local jobs at the forefront of the next great advancement in space. This is an extraordinary opportunity not just to open up new and exciting opportunities for Australian businesses to be a part of but also to build on our close cooperation with our friend and ally the United States. As the chair of the parliamentary friends of the United States, I'm proud that we are investing in the relationship between the Australian Space Agency and NASA. It is crucial that we continue to strengthen our key partnerships with our allies in the emerging industries and strategic dimensions.

Australian businesses are poised to make the most of the close cooperation between the Australian Space Agency and NASA through groundbreaking operations that hold tremendous job-creating potential. One of these is the Moon to Mars initiative. As NASA puts it, this is a mission that prepares for humanity's next great leap, sending astronauts to Mars. For Australian businesses, this five-year program means increasing access to international supply chains, providing the support they need to develop and launch products that add to Australia's capability in space and ensuring Australia plays a key role in NASA's return to the moon and journey onto Mars. This is part of our plan to integrate Australian businesses into the space supply chain and continue to play a leading role in pioneering space missions. Under the leadership of the head of the Australian Space Agency, I can't wait to see the leaps and bounds we take as a space-faring nation.

Since establishing the Australian Space Agency in 2018 we've committed over $700 million to grow the civil space sector. In this year's budget we are going further to support the Australian Space Agency's capabilities, and we are creating detailed road maps to outline the future of the space industry, making sure it delivers the best outcomes for Australia and ensuring we create and sustain local jobs. I am so excited about this and particularly excited about the opportunities in my electorate of Lindsay.

The space industry is one that truly moves the dial on what is possible. I have always believed that together—and this is another example of this—we can do everything. Developing Australia's space industry, one that supports tens of thousands of jobs, is something we should absolutely be aiming for, and I want to see more businesses in Western Sydney playing an active and integral role in the supply chains, turning Australia's courage and ingenuity into products that can lead the world in the next great missions, like NASA's Moon to Mars. Best of all, it's about our kids and the excitement they have for space in the future.

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm happy to second it, and I reserve my right to speak.

Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the new and promising Australian space industry. There's nothing that excites or captures the imagination quite like boldly going where no person has gone before. The measures that the government are taking with the establishment of the Australian Space Agency that I had the pleasure of visiting recently and in supporting this fledgling sector have the backing of me and the Labor Party.

We know that space is projected to be a $1 trillion to $2 trillion industry by the 2040s. One interesting statistic is that, presently, there are around 3,700 satellites orbiting earth. In the next five years, that will grow to 100,000 satellites. That is a phenomenal increase. It's prudent to lay the framework—given this stratospheric rise in space—for an Australian space industry today, so that we may capitalise on and take part in the booming industry of tomorrow. It's incumbent on us to uphold the unwritten contract between the generations—to ensure that our children enter a better world than we did. Investments in the space industry will provide exciting, well-paid jobs for our children and grandchildren and theirs, if we do this right. They may even enter a better galaxy than we did.

Our children may work for the new Australian Space Agency, participating in home-grown and NASA missions, and continue the legacy of the regional New South Wales workers who, out at Parkes, supported the moon landing by broadcasting from the now famous dish. The Australian Space Agency is currently under the capable leadership of Enrico Palermo, who I had the pleasure of meeting with in beautiful Adelaide. Enrico has spent the last 14 years working within the US space sector and he brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to Australia, having been responsible for the construction and testing of a fleet of commercial spacecraft. Now he's come home, to Australia.

Our children may work in my electorate of Paterson, at Technology Place, Williamtown, in Australia's premier defence technology estate. The possibilities for well-paid research and manufacturing jobs in the space sector are boundless. There's nothing more exciting to think about than the technologies we see on our screens in science fiction becoming a reality in our world, and we've already got the Hunter producing vital space innovation.

A friend of mine, who I first met while working at the University of Newcastle, Kim Ellis Hayes, was a finalist for Academic of the Year at this year's Space Awards, which I recently attended. Kim has been a distinguished contributor to the realm of space law, dividing her time between here and the US. Despite the challenges of COVID, she has continued making a significant contribution to Australia. Her work is essential for Australia and for us having a stake in space and establishing our space sovereignty. And there's nothing more exciting to see than a friend and a local's name flash up on a big screen as a finalist in something like the Australian Space Awards, let me assure you. Well done, Kim.

But it's about more than just directly working in space industries, because advances in space are going to improve countless sectors right here on earth, and especially here in Australia. Currently Australia's satellite system assists in mining and agriculture, supporting industries that make up the backbone of Australia and employ thousands in my electorate. They monitor the climate and help protect us from freak weather events.

What have we got to look forward to? Well, through my committee work, I have had the privilege of meeting companies such as Solar Space Technologies. Recently founded, this Australian based company has the ambitious objective of delivering solar power generating satellites into orbit by 2027. They want to connect to the grid and power us through solar rays unimpeded by cloud. There is no cloud out in space. Solar Space Technologies want to take this country to touch the stars and bring the sun's energy direct to earth. We've got Gilmour Space doing incredible work, and Southern Launch sending satellites from regional South Australia. There is so much opportunity and there is so much innovation happening right now.

So these are the reasons we need to lend our support to this growing sector, and I lend my support to this motion from the member for Lindsay.

Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the wonderful motion from the member for Lindsay and particularly to take note of the $1.5 billion for the Modern Manufacturing Initiative, which will see the government strategically invest in projects that help manufacturers scale up and create jobs, because, in this post-COVID period, we have an opportunity to pivot as a country to the jobs of the future. Our six National Manufacturing Priorities are: resources technology and critical minerals processing; food and beverage; medical products; recycling and clean energy; defence; and, of course, the very exciting space.

We recently saw NASA's Perseverance land on Mars. This mission was tasked with answering the question of whether life ever existed on a planet other than earth. Perched on the arm of the robotic rover is a key tool called PIXL. It takes up-close images of scan areas with X-rays, looking for chemical signatures of microbial life in three-billion-year-old rocks. It is incredible to think about. The Pilbara crater, more than 1,200 kilometre north of Perth in Western Australia, is one of the few places on earth where it is still possible to find parts of the crust of the earth the same age as the rocks on Mars. And that's where some very talented Australian scientists come in. While Australian scientist Dr Abigail Allwood's team has been working on PIXL, engineers at JPL and the Queensland University of Technology have been building software to crunch the data as it comes down from Mars. It will then be Dr David Flannery's job to guide the team of scientists on the mission where to go and which samples to take. The work doesn't stop there. Ninety Mars days after the rover lands, a team of 500 scientists in JPL and the QUT will analyse data around the clock, now and until at least April 2023.

The morning Perseverance landed on Mars, backed by Australian scientists and technology, also marked the time the Morrison government made a big announcement about Australia's own space future. I was very proud that at the time I was on a delegation to the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex as part of the inquiry into space by the Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources. Real-time data was being beamed down from Mars as we were there. Incredibly, this mission was on time and on target after many years of planning and many months of the mission. It was incredible to see that it landed within the target it was supposed to, literally on time. They predicted that many months before.

The Moon to Mars initiative was launched as part of the new partnership on future space cooperation between the Australian Space Agency and NASA, backed by a $150 million investment into Australian businesses and researchers to join this endeavour. The Moon to Mars initiative is a five-year program that has three integrated elements: firstly, the Supply Chain Program; secondly, the Demonstrator Program; and, thirdly, the Trailblazer Program, which showcase the best of Australian innovation and capability. To help guide these space projects, the Morrison government will be backing in space manufacturing with a space manufacturing priority road map, which will ensure many more missions and global opportunities happen now and into the future, bringing more Australians into the space industry to compete in what is now a global market, making it possible to commercialise new products and integrate them into global supply chains.

As part of our parliamentary delegation, I was also delighted to meet the new Australian Space Agency head, Enrico Palermo. I wish him well in his new role. He has a dynamic and innovative approach to what is an expanding role for Australia in the area of space. Mr Palermo brings with him strong skills, experience and global connections, which will greatly serve our Australian Space Agency to scale up on a global stage. As we know, the agency itself has been tasked to grow the space industry to $12 billion and, in part, create a further 20,000 jobs by 2030.

The Morrison government is continuing its investment in our growing space sector because we see the value in this. It's a highly innovative and inspirational sector which is providing the jobs of the future. That's why the Morrison government has organised Australia's unique modern manufacturing opportunities to ensure Australia is not left behind. We have the funding, the road maps and the strategies to grow the sector and to provide Australian companies with the opportunity to expand and compete on a global scale. These opportunities are vast and ready for lift-off.

Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This motion purports to celebrate the government's $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy, with the space sector and industry a big part of that. There is a slight bit of hypocrisy in all of this. The motion notes that space is one of the six national priorities in the government's manufacturing plan. We all know and have heard that the Australian space industry has a proud history. We have been part of every deep space mission NASA has ever flown, going back to 1957, with the establishment of the Woomera facility in South Australia. In 1962, the CSIRO Parkes telescope supported NASA's Mariner 2 mission. And we all know about Parkes and Honeysuckle Creek, which played a vital role, and a famous role, in humanity's great adventure to the moon. I think we all agree we want to see Australia be part of the exploration of space in the 21st century, be a leader in this space, be part of the future and be able to participate in a trillion dollar industry which will provide enormous opportunity for Australians, particularly our STEM professionals.

But let's take a closer look at the basis of the motion, which was the $1.5 billion Modern Manufacturing Strategy the government announced in October last year. They promised that this investment would go to six key target areas: resources technology and critical minerals processing; food and beverage; medical products; recycling and clean energy; defence; and space. They promised that this program would spend $1.5 billion over 10 years and create 380,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Prime Minister promised to spend $48 million to create 2,600 new manufacturing jobs in the 2020-21 financial year—this financial year; the one ending in seven days. The Prime Minister has actually spent $79 million—wow, that sounds good; it's more than the $48 million he promised. He will have spent it by 1 July, but guess what? With that $79 million he created 78 manufacturing jobs. That's more than a million dollars per job. Don't worry, Prime Minister, you've still got seven days left to create the other 2,522 manufacturing jobs to reach your government's target!

But we shouldn't be surprised by this because this government doesn't really believe in backing Australian manufacturing. It's actually not in their DNA. The fact is that, since this government took office with Prime Minister Tony Abbott, we have lost 90,000 jobs in Australian manufacturing. Let that sink in—90,000 pairs of boots have been hung up. The government dared—goaded—car manufacturers to leave Australian shores. And they did. Hundreds of workers in my electorate of Wills lost their jobs when the Broadmeadows Ford factory closed in 2016. The Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources's own estimate showed that 50,000 Australian manufacturing jobs were lost just last year—50,000 jobs gone under their watch in one year. The government's own budget forecast papers have said that there's a cut to real wages over the next four years. For a manufacturing worker that is a cut in real wages of $7,800. There are fewer jobs, lower wages and no vision for the future. They can put up as many motions as they want, but this government's record is one of neglect.

Unlike this government, Labor have a vision for a future made in Australia. We want Australia to be a country that makes things. We have a plan to do it. A Labor government will deliver a $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund for projects that will create secure, well-paid jobs, rebuild our local manufacturing industry and capacity, and make Australia more competitive and self-sufficient. A Labor government will deliver an Australian Skills Guarantee to make sure one in 10 jobs on major federal infrastructure projects are given to apprentices, trainees or cadets. A Labor government will make more trains in Australia with our National Rail Manufacturing Plan and will ensure every dollar of federal funding spent on rail projects creates local jobs. A Labor government will deliver a Defence Industry Development Strategy to ensure that the $270 billion invested in the sector uses local workers. Only Labor will deliver the investment and leadership to rebuild Australian manufacturing because we actually believe in it. We believe in creating good and secure jobs and we believe in making Australia more competitive and self-sufficient.

Vince Connelly (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remember staring up in wonder at the heavens at night as a child, as I'm sure all of us did, seeing the stars and the moon up there and wondering at the vastness of space. Many of us also remember the space race, that era after we first put a human into space and then onto the face of the moon, when there was so much activity happening right around the world in taking forward what was often referred to as the final frontier. We owe so many things in our daily rituals—mobile phones, GPS satellite navigation and connecting to the internet, which we pretty much all do—to space and to our understanding and utilisation of space. Today, space is often described as the fourth industrial revolution. Some predictions are that global market growth could see that market reaching $750 billion in the period between 2018 and 2040.

So, recognising this growth, in 2018 the coalition government launched the Australian Space Agency, with the specific task of tripling our market share and creating another 20,000 jobs by 2030. Underpinning this is the Australian Civil Space Strategy, which sets out a very clear plan to diversify the economy, to connect internationally, to develop national capabilities and to ensure the safety and security of our space infrastructure and operations. It also makes clear that meeting Australia's international obligations and supporting a rules based order are central to us achieving that vision. The strategy outlines seven priorities: earth observation; communication technologies; position navigation and timing; space situational awareness and, importantly, debris monitoring; leapfrog research and development; robotics and automation on earth and in space; and, finally, access to space.

Since the establishment of the Australian Space Agency, we have committed $705 million to growing the civil space sector. These investments include: $150 million for the Moon to Mars initiative; $19½ million to the Space Infrastructure Fund; the $15 million International Space Investment initiative; $6 million for the Australian Space Discovery Centre; $389 million for Geoscience Australia to look at better GPS systems; $55 million to support the development of new technologies through the SmartSat CRC; and, finally, $26 million—I know it's a lot of money, but you've borne with me very well—to CSIRO to support space science here in Australia.

The space sector is an emerging area of competitive advantage and industry growth. That is why our Australian government provided an additional $13 million over four years and ongoing funding of $3.4 million a year to the Australian Space Agency in the most recent budget. This additional funding will strengthen the agency's capability to deliver a world-class, responsive regulatory system, support the industry's rapid growth and facilitate high-tech job creation.

This Morrison government is backing Australian manufacturing as well as the science and research that underpins it. That's part of our economic recovery plan as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic in this recovery phase. The 2020-21 budget included an investment of $1½ billion over four years for the Modern Manufacturing Strategy. This will allow Australian manufacturers to scale up, compete internationally and create more jobs. The government's identified space as a national priority for manufacturing because it's an area of growing competitive advantage and strategic importance.

It's all about playing to Australia's strengths, and I'm pleased that my own home state of WA is playing an important role. Last year, it was announced that Perth would be the home of the Australian Space Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Control Complex, or SpAARC. This was awarded to Fugro Australia Marine with a $4.5 million commitment. The new space race is on. We're seeking to leverage our advantages and advance the interests of Australia, including in space.

Anika Wells (Lilley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Opportunities to become part of the international space supply chain are growing across the globe, and Queensland is well positioned to harness our natural potential. By 2025, Queensland's space industry will be recognised as a leading centre in Australasia for launch activities, ground systems, Earth observation, niche manufacturing, robotics and automation for space. The Queensland government's Space Industry Strategy will add between $3.5 billion and $6 billion to Queensland's economy and up to 6,000 jobs by 2036.

We are home to Black Sky Aerospace, who in December 2020 became the first and only Australian company with the capability and licence to manufacture large-scale solid rocket motors. Dr William Crowe at High Orbit Robotics in Sydney is also doing fantastic work, combining intelligent control with space based cameras to acquire high-quality imagery of valuable assets in space.

I fully support any endeavour to assist Australian businesses to become part of then international space supply chain. But it seems that the Morrison government are more willing to invest in manufacturing and jobs anywhere but at home, where it really matters. We've just heard from the member for Wills that we've lost 90,000 manufacturing jobs under this government—90,000 pairs of boots that have been hung up because this government doesn't care about manufacturing, doesn't care about bringing Aussie jobs back home.

In my electorate of Lilley the aviation, tourism and transport sector has been haemorrhaging jobs for the last two years—Virgin Australian workers, both at head office and the airport; Qantas baggage handlers; dnata workers; Volgren workers; and, potentially, Greyhound Australia workers. Before the Morrison government sends a man to Mars, may I suggest that that they try the manufacturing businesses in Virginia in my electorate of Lilley first.

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.