David Van (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

In all our Defence white papers, from the 2020 DSU through to last year's DSR and this year's NDS, it has been made clear to the Australian public that space is a new domain alongside air, land, sea and cyber. To quote from the NDS:

Space is a critical element of the integrated force for every ADF operation …

Like in every domain, Australia has heroes in its sovereign industrial base that bring innovation, technical knowhow, risk-taking and, ultimately, successful defence capability for Australia and our export markets. However, sadly, this seems to be in spite of our defence bureaucracy rather than because of it. Governments past and present budget billions of dollars to fund capability, all of which I support. However, frustratingly, all too often it is the government agencies responsible—or that should be responsible—for enabling Australia's development and acquisition of these capabilities that act as roadblocks or, worse, handicap our sovereign manufacturers.

Today I'd like to highlight one of these Australian hero companies: Gilmour Space. Gilmour has had its first homegrown, homebuilt Eris orbital launch vehicle ready to launch from Bowen spaceport in Queensland for over a month. But the Australian Space Agency has stalled the launch by not issuing the necessary certification. Gilmour lodged all the necessary paperwork over six months ago, yet the agency is dragging its feet. Gilmour has its second launcher ready to go. The faster they can launch, the faster they can learn and the faster they can earn revenue for an Australian defence company. I call on the minister to put a rocket up the Australian Space Agency.