Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That these bills be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speeches read as follows—

Australian Astronomical Observatory Bill 2009

The purpose of this bill is to establish the Australian Astronomical Observatory as an Australian owned and operated facility when the joint Australia-UK Anglo-Australian Observatory winds up on 1 July 2010.

Australia and the United Kingdom have been partners in the AAO for over 35 years. Unfortunately, science budget cuts in the UK have lead to the UK Government’s decision to focus its astronomy resources on fewer facilities. In 2005 the Australian and UK governments agreed that on 1 July 2010 the Anglo-Australian Telescope Board would be disbanded, and the AAO handed over to the Australian Government.

The Australian Astronomical Observatory Bill is one of two bills being introduced today, to give effect to the 2005 agreement. The other is the Australian Astronomical Observatory (Transitional Provisions) Bill.

The UK withdrawal provides an opportunity for Australia to take over a world-class facility that is still producing leading-edge science. The observatory is an iconic facility with a strong record of scientific achievement and major discoveries. The 4-metre diameter Anglo-Australian Telescope provides over half of our national telescope capability in optical astronomy, and was ranked by a recent independent international survey as the world’s most productive telescope in its class.

Innovative astronomical instruments, designed and built by the observatory, are installed not only on the Anglo-Australian Telescope, but also on other major telescopes around the world, including the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope and Japan’s Subaru Telescope in Hawaii. They are an important demonstration of Australia’s technological capabilities.

These are some of the reasons why the Government announced, as part of the Super Science Initiative for Space and Astronomy in the 2009-10 Budget, that the observatory will continue to operate under new governance arrangements, with additional funding of $20.9 million over four years.

This Bill gives effect to those new governance arrangements, including establishing the facility, renamed the Australian Astronomical Observatory, as a business unit of the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

The Bill also establishes the position of the director of the Australian Astronomical Observatory. The intention is that the director will be a person with appropriate expertise both in astronomical science and in the leadership and management of a world-class science facility.

The Bill formally confers astronomical functions on the secretary of the department, but provides for these to be delegated to the director, or to a suitable APS employee within the observatory.

The main functions will be to operate Australia’s national observatory for optical astronomy, to undertake, support and report on astronomical research, and to develop and manufacture astronomical observing instruments. The observatory will also serve the optical astronomy community in other ways, including by supporting Australia’s participation in future world-leading astronomical facilities.

The director will be supported by the Australian Astronomical Observatory Advisory Committee, which will provide independent expert advice on how the astronomical functions are to be performed.

This Bill, together with the new funding announced by the Government in the 2009-10 Budget, will help to ensure that the observatory continues to host and support world-class astronomy, to be an innovative source of new astronomical instruments, and to provide the expertise Australia needs to participate in international scientific collaborations.

Further details of the Bill are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum.

Australian Astronomical Observatory (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2009

The purpose of this bill is to provide for transitional arrangements relating to the proposed establishment of the Australian Astronomical Observatory within the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

This is the companion to the Australian Astronomical Observatory Bill.

Together, these Bills provide for disbanding the Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, which operates the Anglo-Australian Observatory, and for the observatory to be re-established within the department as the Australian Astronomical Observatory, to take effect from the transition date of 1 July 2010.

Schedule 1 of this Bill repeals the Anglo-Australian Telescope Agreement Act 1970, which established the Anglo-Australian Telescope Board as a bi-national authority to operate the Anglo-Australian Observatory, funded jointly by the governments of Australia and the United Kingdom. One effect of this provision is to dissolve the Anglo-Australian Telescope Board.

Schedule 2 to the Bill contains the transitional provisions for establishing the Australian Astronomical Observatory as a unit within the department. These include provisions for the transfer of assets, liabilities, legal arrangements and other matters from the Anglo-Australian Telescope Board to the Commonwealth.

The observatory’s employees are to be transferred into the department under the provisions of the Public Service Act 1999. The bill provides for the transfer of their terms and conditions of employment and the maintenance of their accrued entitlements.

Schedule 2 also provides for the preservation of existing powers and obligations of the Auditor-General to audit the board’s financial records after the dissolution of the board. There are also provisions relating to the furnishing and tabling in the Parliament of the final annual report and financial statements of the Anglo-Australian Telescope Board after the transition date.

This Bill will facilitate the smooth transfer to the department of the employees, assets and other matters of the board, so that the observatory can continue its important work without interruption, while maintaining transparency, accountability and continuity of corporate and Commonwealth responsibilities.

Further details of the Bill are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum.

Debate adjourned.