Grant Chapman (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I take great pleasure in speaking to this interim report, Australia’s space science and industry sector, of the Senate Standing Committee on Economics. As many senators will be aware, this is a topic which I have promoted before not only the Senate but also in public debate.

The economics committee will be issuing its final report in October, when I regret I will no longer be a member of this place. In fact, I only have a few more days to go until 30 June. The interim report seeks to frame some key questions and summarise the views on them contained in over 50 submissions received so far. It also draws on the hearings of the committee, held in Canberra and Adelaide. As the interim report notes, Australia was the fourth nation to launch its own satellite—many, many years ago, back in the 1950s—and the big dish at Parkes played a crucial role in the American Apollo missions.

While we still play an important supporting role, such as receiving data from the Phoenix Mars Lander, we can no longer claim to be a leader in space science. Indeed, we are one of the few rich, medium-sized economies that do not have a dedicated space agency or a specific space policy. The interim report describes how the Australian Government Space Forum brings together various parts of government engaged in space related activities twice a year. But the forum falls well short of a coordination role even within government let alone among the broader community.

In 2005, I put together a space policy advisory group made up of industry, academic and other experts in space from right across Australia to assist me in preparing a report, which I subsequently called Space: a priority for Australia. It argued the case for a dedicated space policy for Australia, and I commend that report to those with an interest in the field.

Unfortunately, successive Australian governments have not recognised space as a priority. I look to this committee’s report to put these issues more prominently on the public agenda. I am pleased that the Australian Academy of Science is in the process of producing its own decadal plan, and a number of submissions to the inquiry commended that. I have spent some time working in relation to space policy issues, including meeting in the United States with experts at Cape Kennedy and with Dr Andy Thomas, of South Australian origin, at Houston, and also engaging with the space industry in the United Kingdom, which reinforced and highlighted the importance of Australia developing a space policy.

The committee heard claims that the Australian Research Council is not very supportive of space science and looks forward to testing these claims with the council at its future hearings. With no coordinating body, space research is spread around a number of Australian universities. It is possible it would be more effective to concentrate it in a smaller number of centres of excellence, which could form the basis of industry clusters.

There were varying views put to the committee about what role Australia could reasonably take in launching rockets or designing and building propulsion systems for them. But there was no doubt that Australia will depend on satellite data for an increasing range of vital economic activity. This ranged from monitoring short-range fluctuations in weather to the long-run dynamics of climate change. Remote sensing can be of great use in mineral prospecting. Once mining operations commence, it may soon be commonplace for them to be controlled remotely from city offices. There is similar scope for farming equipment such as harvesters to be controlled remotely or operators to be assisted through satellite information. There is also potential for remote farms to control stock movements with virtual fences: collars fitted to the animals deterring them from straying. Satellites can track the movement of goods and so lower inventory costs. They are also used to synchronise the time stamping of financial transactions. Finally, and probably most importantly of all, Australia’s national security depends on being able to monitor our borders and beyond for information obtained from satellites.

It is this increasing dependence on the use of satellite data that raises the strategic concern that Australia does not own or control any satellites. We are essentially reliant on the goodwill of other countries, which we cannot guarantee will always be on offer. Of course, there is no indication that this will change today or tomorrow. But, if global circumstances change, it will then be too late to wish we had our own national source of satellite data. Even without any crisis, it would be helpful if we could have more influence so that satellites reflected our priorities.

At its Adelaide hearing, the committee was honoured to have as a witness Dr Andy Thomas, the Australian astronaut. He has not only the right stuff but the right vision. He told the committee:

There is no doubt in my mind that a robust national space project is unmatched in its ability to inspire the next generation and motivate youth to seek higher education … after my first flight into space, enrolments in engineering where I studied skyrocketed, ...

Like Dr Thomas, I want Australians to be inspired to take more interest in space. I also want them to secure access to the space data on which Australia increasingly depends. Therefore, as a retired senator involved in other things but certainly still maintaining my interest in the space industry and its future, I will look forward to reading the committee’s conclusions and recommendations on these issues in its final report, due to be tabled in this place in October.