Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

From the outset, I want to point out that today I'm wearing a tie with an Aboriginal design on it based on the stars, and I want to acknowledge our First Nations people's study of the stars and knowledge over millennia. In more recent times, of course—from the launch of the AUSSAT A-Series satellites in the 1980s to that acquisition by Optus in 1992 to landmark investments in the 1990s and more than $3 billion of investment in the last 25 years—Australia's commercial space capability has significantly evolved. I'll never forget being out in Arnhem Land watching the first commercial space rocket launches that NASA had ever done outside of the continental United States, which were very successful.

We have a growing and dynamic space industry with heaps of emerging innovators, engineers and scientists that are shaping our national space capabilities. We know that Australia's space sector is entering a pivotal phase. Homegrown companies are making global contributions in satellite technology, Earth observation, space exploration and advanced communications. There are even companies, in my electorate of Darwin, who are right now doing horizontal jet engine testing for space related rockets—getting satellites into orbit. So, this is happening now.

Obviously part of the solution for further innovation is government funding. I met with a company called Atomionics during these past couple of weeks in Darwin. We've backed them with some serious federal government funding for their critical technologies. It is but one of many examples around the country where we are backing Australian homegrown innovation.

When it comes to the space sector we know that technologies that enable space missions are so critical to life on Earth, such as when it comes to weather forecasting. And of course in the Top End, where I live and where the member for Leichhardt lives, we're pretty keen on knowing what's going on with the weather, particularly during cyclone season. With climate monitoring, national security implications for space domain awareness, and connectivity across regional and remote communities, we know that space plays an incredibly important role. That's why we're partnering with industry and why we're partnering with innovators—Australian companies partnered with overseas companies—valuing the contribution, as we do, of the space sector to our Australian economy. And of course it's all part of delivering a Future Made in Australia.

Earlier contributors have mentioned the significant funding—$4.6 billion turnover, 17,000 full-time employees and 620 organisations—in the Australian space actor. One of the reasons we are hosting the 76th International Astronautical Congress in September, with more than 6,000 attendees from more than 90 countries, is that people around the world see our focus on space and see how, particularly in the north—in WA, in the NT and in Queensland—our proximity to the equator makes our location ideal for space. I will also mention, as some of our colleagues did earlier, the focus of South Australia on the space industry as well. It's really significant.

The recent Gilmour rocket launch was the first commercial space launch of an Australian made rocket from an Australian spaceport, and I say congratulations to them. As I mentioned before, the one in the Northern Territory previously was the first that NASA had done outside of CONUS, or continental United States. Any way that you look at it, we've had a fivefold increase in space launch applications since 2021. It's a business on the move. It's a serious business and one that our government absolutely supports. The space agency having delivered $171 million into 91 projects is just an example of that.

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