Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that 1 July 2023 marks five years since the official establishment of the Australian Space Agency;

(2) recognises the growth of the Australian space sector over that time and the world leading advanced manufacturing that Australia's space industry is spearheading;

(3) acknowledges that space industry development is one of the highest return investments governments can make in modem economies; and

(4) calls on the Government to re-prioritise the space sector as an investment, including as a standalone sector under the National Reconstruction Fund.

When parliament rises this week, we won't be returning until 31 July. But at the start of the next month, there's a special milestone for the Australian Space Agency: 1 July marks five years since the official establishment of the Australian Space Agency. So I'm delighted to be moving this motion today, highlighting the important work of the agency and the great value to our nation of our growing space industry.

I was very privileged in my time as the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology to work closely with the Australian Space Agency; to secure important funding to build the industry, particularly in manufacturing; and to appoint the current head of the agency, Enrico Palermo. Unlike NASA or the European Space Agency, the Australian Space Agency has a focus on private development and businesses rather than state driven operations. The meteoric rise of the Australian Space Agency over the last five years under the stewardship of the agency has been exactly what we envisaged when we established it.

There are many milestones and many achievements with our international partners, with local industry, and with cutting-edge businesses. There are too many for me to list here today, but perhaps one of the most significant partnerships took effect on 3 October 2021, when the Australian Space Agency reached an agreement with NASA for an Australian made semi-autonomous rover to be part of a future mission to the moon. Through the flagship $150 million Moon to Mars Initiative, established under the coalition, the agency will support the mission through the Trailblazer program. The Trailblazer program will include an investment of $50 million in Australian businesses and researchers to develop and build the lunar rover. Australia's ability to develop and operate a rover like this is supported by our skills and experience in remote operations and autonomous systems here on Earth.

I was also very excited to learn earlier this year that the Director of Space Technology at the Australian Space Agency, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, was announced as the first Australian woman to be trained as an astronaut by an international space agency. Unlike previous instances, where Australian astronauts have flown as citizens of other nations, Katherine will train as an Australian under our flag.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

That actually gave me goosebumps; as I said, I'm so excited about that. She has begun her training in Germany, and she's going to continue right through to mid next year, while she remains an employee of the Australian Space Agency, where she has worked since the end of 2019.

These are some of the very public achievements that have been made. Of course there was the establishment of the Space Discovery Centre at Lot Fourteen in Adelaide, which provides a showcase and an education centre to inspire our young astronauts of the future. It clearly wasn't established just so it could inspire astronauts; it was a key pillar of what the former government was doing to make sure that we were able to excite our young people about the opportunities that could be provided to them by studying science, technology, engineering and maths whilst they were at school.

While the cause of human advancement and exploration is in itself worldly, this is really about building Australia's competitive strengths to ensure we can benefit from the growth of the international space industry. The November 2021 report of the Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources, The now frontier: developing Australia's space industrywhich, incidentally, was an inquiry I asked the committee to conduct at the time I was minister—reported:

The global space industry is valued at approximately $471 billion, and is predicted to be worth almost $1.5 trillion over the next 20 years.

The space industry is so important to us here in Australia. It is no longer a fledgling industry. It is an industry that is now well established, both in our manufacturing sector and right across the whole range of industry skill sets that we need here in Australia. It provides an enormous opportunity for us, and I'm sure this is a legacy that will continue well into the future.

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am delighted to speak about the Australian space sector, which is an incredibly fast-growing sector of our economy. The global space industry is currently worth at least $366 billion, but it's forecast to reach as much as $1 trillion in value by 2040. I'd be very surprised if it doesn't reach that target well before that time. The Australian Space Agency has the goal of tripling our space industry here, capturing a $12 billion market share—up from $5.2 billion in 2018-19—and creating 30,000 jobs by 2030. The Albanese government recognises that the space sector can make a very valuable contribution to Australia's modern economy. Whether this is in deploying technology to track bushfires from orbit or developing autonomous space systems with applications in mining and agriculture, the space industry is delivering and will continue to deliver for Australians. That's why our government is backing the industry in.

The $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund will provide future funding opportunities for the space industry. Space sector projects are explicitly included in the enabling capabilities priority area. I welcome this private motion, but the fact that the opposition is today raising the National Reconstruction Fund and what it should do is quite frankly astounding. I simply remind those opposite that they voted against the National Reconstruction Fund. I'm happy to be bipartisan on these issues, as these private members' bills often are, but the fact is that they did vote against. I think it's worth noting. They're saying one thing and voting the other way. But this $392 million industry growth program that our government has announced in the budget will also provide opportunities for space companies. Across government, there is $10 billion available to support the space sector over the forward estimates and beyond, so, for those opposite to suggest that there's an underinvestment in the Australian space industry, those opposite must seriously be on another planet. Maybe that's what they're trying to do—get back home, hoping they'll get picked up!

We are working closely with our international partners to develop our space industry. It's incredibly exciting, as the previous speaker said, that Katherine Bennell-Pegg, an employee of the Australian Space Agency, became the first Australian to train as an astronaut with the European Space Agency. Additionally, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pamela Melroy visited Australia in March, which was the first such visit since 2014. I had a good yarn with them up at the US ambassador's house. During the visit, Administrator Nelson called for an Australian astronaut to fly with NASA. Australia has a long history of collaboration in space with the US, dating back to the 1950s, including by helping to broadcast the Apollo 11 moon landing to the world and tracking the most recent Artemis mission. It makes me very proud that Australia joined the United States Moon to Mars exploration program. Just last month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden announced the technology safeguards agreement, or TSA, on the sidelines of the G7 in Japan. The TSA will allow for the transfer of US space technology, including rockets and satellites, to be launched from Australia. Honourable members will probably know and understand that there have been NASA rockets fired from the Northern Territory. Out near the Garma site in Arnhem Land, not far from Nhulunbuy, we saw those rockets launch into space. The territory's geographic location provides a host of benefits for launch facilities and for ground stations because we're close to the equator, we have a low population in the Southern Hemisphere and we have clear skies with low-light pollution. For all your rocket launching needs, just come up to the Northern Territory. (Time expired)

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to support this private member's motion by the member for McPherson, and I want to acknowledge her longstanding commitment to both STEM and to the space industry, particularly through her role as an engineer in the passion she brings to this particular area of manufacturing. As the Australian Space Agency marks its fifth year on 1 July, since its inception it's been providing a centralised pathway that promotes the collaboration that we've heard the member for McPherson speaking about and is bringing together the public and private sectors to achieve world-class research projects and outcomes. It's achieving very high-quality outcomes in what is a short period of time. It's a testament to the vision of the previous coalition government and its investment in the sector. It's no wonder that Australia's share of the global space economy grew by 30 per cent during 2019-20 as the agency worked to develop, assess and target the areas of importance, to close market gaps in the sector and to enable and facilitate commercial investments where Australia holds that competitive advantage.

The first optical communications ground station is based at the University of WA. This project is changing the way we communicate between ground and space based assets and has the potential to enable the high-speed transfer of large volumes of data very quickly and securely. We've also got ground stations to be based in South Australia, the ACT and New Zealand, and the growth of the project is a great outcome for the Australian Space Agency and collaborators.

Another fantastic project has been enabled through collaboration with the European Space Agency with construction underway of a 35-metre deep-space tracking satellite dish in New Norcia, 140-odd kilometres north of Perth. The antenna will feature the latest in the cryogenically cooled technologies to boost signal reception and will be locally operated by some of Australia's best scientists from CSIRO. The site was chosen in 2019, with construction expected to be completed in 2024.

Labor is creating some uncertainty for the space industry throughout Australia. The former coalition government, through the establishment of the Australian Space Agency and its commitment to projects worth $2.5 billion, actually supported 10,000 Australian workers. I note that Labor didn't even invite a representative from the space sector to their jobs forum.

We actually included space as one of six National Manufacturing Priorities. It's very important we understand the importance of this industry to Australia and to our future. As a government, we wanted to ensure that we had the best framework in place for the sector to succeed, and that is what we're seeing now. Certainly we must, as a nation, provide a clear commitment to the space sector. Not doing so will actually halt the momentum that's been gained. We also looked at what's ahead in the national defence sector, and we looked at the over-the-horizon issues and the potential weaponisation of satellites. There are very good reasons for Australia to be in this field.

We work with others around the world like NASA and the European Space Agency. Anne Bettens and Tarkin Eckersley are both from my electorate and are great examples of the pathway we're providing for young and mature Australians alike. Anne grew up in Harvey and went on to study a PhD at the University of Sydney's school of aerospace and engineering. She specialises in autonomous navigation of satellites for space exploration. She was selected as one of just two Australians to attend a 10-week internship program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Tarkin Eckersley grew up in the small town of Dunsborough. He has a significant and extremely important role with NASA, where he works in the hazardous gas leak detection team to ensure the safe launch of rockets for NASA's Artemis missions. His team sits in the launch control centre.

For anyone who is wondering what space means for them, have a think about the things that have come out of space technology and exploration: scratch-resistant lenses, cordless tools for our tradespeople at work, ear thermometers now used in hospitals, sat navs in cars for satellite navigation, the memory foam now used in mattresses, smoke detectors, safety grooving for runways and roads, LED lights, portable computers—the list goes on.

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I understand very clearly, as does the Albanese government, that the space sector can make a hugely valuable contribution to Australia's modern economy. I represent the seat of Adelaide, and a lot of the space industry is based in my electorate. My state of South Australia has a vibrant space ecosystem, with over 90 space organisations, including a significant number of defence prime operating space businesses, high growth SMEs and the headquarters of the SmartSat CRC, as well as the Australian Space Agency headquarters. I'm very proud to represent these groups in my electorate.

The government is making sure that the Australian Space Agency maintains its presence in Adelaide. I'm very pleased about that because we know how important the space sector is not just to the Australian economy but also to the South Australian economy. With offices around the country and with a clear purpose, the agency will continue to deliver nationally. South Australian companies and projects have received over $550 million in public and private investments since 2018 out of a total pipeline of $3 billion. Over $340 million of total investment in my home state in the space sector—most of it in my electorate—has come from industry or private equity investment. That is a big vote of confidence for the market in South Australian know-how. I'm very proud of that.

The space sector can be an essential ingredient for our nation to achieve greater economic success, as well as greater economic complexity, supporting adjacent high-tech industries from agriculture to resources and advanced manufacturing. Space can also play a leading role in developing Australia's emerging critical technologies such as quantum, AI—artificial intelligence—robotics and other priority areas for this government and its focus. Space both leverages and creates markets for these technologies, feeding into the development for the benefit of all industries and for the wellbeing of the community.

While it might be the glamour stories—such as stories about rocket launches—that grab the headlines, on this side of the House we know that businesses powering the Australian space industry are getting on with the job of developing the skills and technologies that we require now, and will require into the future, that help Australians every day. Whether it be deploying technology to track bushfires from orbit or developing autonomous space systems with applications in mining and agriculture, this space industry is delivering for Australians, and the government wants to back the practical work in it. That includes the work of companies like Fleet Space Technologies, whose network of minisatellites and ground sensors—which are manufactured in Adelaide—is helping the mining sector to conduct mineral exploration activities more quickly, safely, affordably and with minimal environmental impact. Fleet also run in-house programs to train up the next generation of STEM talent from a range of backgrounds.

These are the kinds of practical applications of space technologies that we on this side of the chamber are interested in. One of our first actions as a government was to announce approval for NASA to launch a series of rockets from Arnhem Space Centre in the Northern Territory—a historic moment for the space industry in Australia. It was the first commercial space launch in Australia and the first time NASA has launched from a commercial spaceport outside the US. That's a vote of confidence in Australian know-how and capability that we should all be proud of. The nature of space is that it attracts the best of Australian science and technology talent, and for that reason it pushes us to new horizons—literally.

The Albanese government wants Australians from all corners of the community to have access to interesting, rewarding, well-paid and secure jobs, including in the space industry. We know that for many young Australians space is a very inspiring gateway to study and work in the broader world of science and technology. That's why it was incredibly exciting that Katherine Bennell-Pegg, an employee of the Australian Space Agency, became the first Australian-born woman to represent our nation in astronaut training within the European Space Agency. Through role models like Katherine we can encourage more of our young people to pursue STEM-related careers— (Time expired)

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm very grateful to the member for McPherson for bringing this important issue to the attention of the House. I'd like to acknowledge the member's tenure as the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology under the coalition government and, in particular, her interest and passion for the Australian space sector. I would like to wish the Australian Space Agency a very happy birthday, noting that on 1 July it will be five years since its official establishment. I know that Enrico Palermo, head of the agency, will have something very special planned.

I too have had the great honour of being a minister responsible for space, when I was the minister for both the defence industry and the science and technology portfolios. During this time I had the great honour of meeting many Australian companies working hard to fill our nation's space needs. While I was minister I was pleased to address the Australian Space Forum and outline our ambitious vision for the sector. Our mission was to triple Australia's space sector size to $12 billion and create an extra 20,000 highly skilled jobs by 2030. Whilst this goal was ambitious, it was achievable with our strong commitment to the space sector. Competition in the global space sector is fierce, but with our focused efforts to leverage Australia's competitive advantage we were making very good progress. With the coalition's establishment of the Australian Space Agency in 2018, we built a very strong foundation for leading the charge. Since the agency was established, over $2.5 billion in investment has flowed into the sector from government, the private sector and international space agencies. We maintained our focus on supporting the sector to grow, by investing in building capability, strengthening those partnerships and inspiring the next generation of Aussie space workers.

Speaking at the Australian Space Forum in March 2022, I said:

I believe we are at a critical point in time for the Australian space industry.

We have been through the start-up phase. Now it is time to scale up.

We believe that investment in space is central to Australia's future.

And from where I'm standing—the future looks very bright.

Yet the Labor Party's decision to defund crucial programs such as the Australia spaceports program, the Australian technology into orbit program and a subprogram of the Moon to Mars program sends a message of complacency and missed opportunity and undermines this vision. These programs were aimed at helping space organisations be part of the supply chain for NASA's ambitious plans to return to the moon and, eventually, journey to Mars. By defunding these initiatives, the Labor government undermines our potential contributions to global space exploration and deprives our industries of the opportunities for growth and innovation.

It was obvious to the space industry in Australia that the coalition government understood very clearly the importance of developing a sovereign space industry for civil and defence purposes and had the vision and the policies to support this. Sadly, what is now obvious is that the Albanese government has no vision and clearly does not understand that the Australian space industry is important for business and national security. You have to ask yourself: why did the Albanese Labor government cut around $70 million from growing Australia's space industry program in the last budget, and why isn't space a standalone priority under the Labor government's National Reconstruction Fund?

In the 2020 Defence strategic update, the coalition included space as its own domain, illustrating our governments clear understanding of the importance of space for the defence of our nation. Australia's first national space mission—the National Space Mission for Earth Observation—is now under threat, due to these irresponsible cuts by the Labor government. This mission, which was intended to build satellites to detect and respond to bushfires and floods, as well as to undertake maritime surveillance, put Australia at the forefront of a progressively promising industry. The coalition announced $1.2 billion for this project in March 2022. At the time, James Brown, the Chief Executive Officer of the Space Industry Association of Australia, described it as 'the most strategic and significant space public policy in 40 years'. I agree with you, James.

I would like to finish on a positive note and send my best wishes to all Aussie students who are participating in the Spacesport America Cup this week in New Mexico in the United States. Many Australian universities are well represented, including the University of Western Australia, from my home state. Last year's overall winner of the Spaceport America Cup was the University of Sydney's USYD rocketry team, which is further proof that Australia has got talent. We can only hope that Australia can take advantage of all this talent, but it requires space vision and funding of the vision, which unfortunately, the current government is failing on. (Time expired)

Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion introduced by the member for McPherson. I note and appreciate that the member for McPherson is a fellow engineer. We do need to look after each other, but I will respectfully disagree with the central ideas of her motion.

The member for McPherson has moved a motion that suggests that Australia's space industry has been de-prioritised by this government, but nothing could be further from the truth. We are proud of the work we are doing in this area. Across the government there is $10 billion available to support the space sector over the forward estimates and beyond, so the coalition must be on another planet if it suggests that there is underinvestment in the Australian space industry.

As a species, we have been fascinated by the sky for the entirety of our existence, and we often look to the stars for guidance and meaning. Dr Gemma Anderson, a Swan local, an astrophysicist and a mother from my mothers group, has talked to me about the moment she fell in love with the sky. Her dad showed her the stars through a telescope, and from that moment Gemma knew that she would dedicate her career to our galaxy, as many Australians have done. Gemma's research as an astrophysicist with the International Centre of Radio Astronomy Research uses radio telescope arrays on earth to observe explosions in space. This is a further amazing space of research and development being done in my electorate of Swan through the wonderful Curtin University. Also, the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy is part of the team that built the square kilometre array. This telescope will allow researchers to explore our galaxy at a greater resolution. The exciting Binar space program is led by Curtin Uni's Space Science and Technology Centre. The Binar space satellite is a tiny satellite that you can hold in your hand. I was so proud to witness this amazing technology with the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, last year. This is the first spacecraft to be designed and built in Australia. Curtin is also a founding partner of AROSE, or Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth. AROSE was a successful applicant to the Australian Space Agency's Moon to Mars trailblazer program. AROSE will receive $4 million to design, build, test and operate prototypes of a semiautonomous rover which will support NASA's Artemis program.

The member for McPherson has also noted that 1 July marks the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Australian Space Agency. Sadly, we are also approaching another significant anniversary for the Australian space industry—that is, the axing of the National Space Program on 30 June 1996 by the Howard government. The Australian Space Office comprised only 20 people and had a budget of $6 million. With the closure of this office, in 1996, Australia's Near-Earth Object Surveyor effort was also shut down. On an episode of 60 Minutes, this program was wrongly described as a 'fruitless, unnecessary, self-indulgent exercise'.

When the then minister for science, Peter McGauran, received a letter signed by 91 asteroid scientists and related scientists about the benefits of keeping the existing program and how a more-rigorous research program would add to Australia's capabilities at a very meagre cost, he said:

I'm not going to be spooked, or panicked, into spending scarce research dollars on a fruitless attempt to predict the next asteroid.

Does this remind us of anything? You can't trust those opposite with science. They don't consistently accept the science, whether that be space science, conservation science or climate science. Let's face it, this defines the LNP approach to science: always putting politics before the science and Australia's best interests. There are many parallels between the decision to axe the National Space Program and the decisions on research and science funding during the lost decade under the coalition government.

The coalition government has no plan for jobs, no plan to reinvigorate Australia's manufacturing industry and no vision for the future. On industry policy, noting there were eight industry ministers, the coalition spent nearly a decade ignoring what comes next—ignoring it and fumbling it.

Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) 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.