Annette Hurley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The inquiry by the Senate Standing Committee on Economics into Australia’s space science and industry sector has been extremely interesting so far. For me the key question is whether we need to give particular importance to the space area. There are a number of disciplines involved, including physics, mathematics and engineering, that do a range of research in a range of areas. The question is whether those working under the space science umbrella deserve any particular attention and assistance from the government. Why should it be that people in these areas deserve particular attention, rather than physicists, mathematicians or engineers working in a whole range of other areas that are looking for grants in research, technology or other areas? So far in our inquiry we have received answers from a number of sources, and I think Senator Stott Despoja and Senator Chapman have outlined a number of these and the issues particularly well. Key among them so far, in my mind, are the ability to attract more people into science areas and to build upon the past achievements that Australia has had in the space science area. These have been very significant, and it would be a shame to lose the range of expertise that we have built up in Australia.

Particularly exciting to me is the ability to do all kinds of remote sensing, which is obviously very useful to us in South Australia. Given the extent of our Southern Hemisphere land mass, we do have quite an ability to view satellites over a long period of time. That is particularly useful for us because if we can see satellites it means we can have a constant image coming down. Also, the ability for remote sensing in areas such as mining and agriculture is very real for us in Australia. The other area that interests me is the ability to monitor climate change and other changes in global patterns. It was hard, seeing the passion and dedication of the scientists in that area, not to feel a similar response while hearing about the possibilities in the space science area and I do indeed look forward to hearing the remainder of the evidence.

I would like to also say that we will sorely miss the contributions of Senators Chapman and Stott Despoja. They have obviously had a passion for space science for a long time, they are very knowledgeable about the area and they have been able to point the committee in a number of very useful directions. We will sorely miss their input, and I hope that the committee will produce a report that is worthy of their long-term interest in this area.

Question agreed to.