Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share 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.

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