Claire Clutterham (Sturt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am proud to rise today to speak about the significant part my home state of South Australia is playing in the government's space sector investment and development of sovereign space capability. Like my colleague the member for Adelaide, who spoke before me, I too am proud of Lot Fourteen, which is a seven-hectare site in the heart of Adelaide's central business district. Lot Fourteen is a growing research and innovation district that aims to shoot for the stars, and the district is home to a dynamic community working on cutting-edge technology in defence and space.

The Australian Space Agency is an anchor organisation within the district, working to deliver programs that generate national space capability and infrastructure, unlock international space collaboration and build programs that inspire a future space workforce. Since inception, the Australian Space Agency has delivered $171 million in grant funding to 91 projects, which has benefited over 200 Australian organisations. Importantly, the Australian Space Agency programs have delivered a seven-to-one return on investment on average, making the agency a key part of the Australian space sector. This sector has an annual turnover of $4.6 billion, with 17,000 full-time employees, and comprises some 620 organisations. Lot Fourteen is also the headquarters of the Australian Space Discovery Centre, which, since inception in 2021, has seen 165,000 visitors walk through the door, including 118,000 school students.

South Australia is also the proud home base of Fleet Space Technologies, and I recently met with the general counsel of Fleet Space Technologies, Ms Alicia Genet, to gain an understanding of the critical capability Fleet uses to discover and then create 3D subsurface models of critical mineral deposits. These are essential for Australia's sovereign capability as part of a future made in Australia. They use a fast and environmentally sustainable combination of artificial intelligence, wireless seismic sensors and low-Earth-orbit nanosatellites. The use of traditional exploration methods such as drilling and explosives is reduced, as the nanosatellites produce real-time evidence based insights to ensure critical minerals exploration is more targeted and accurate.

My state again stands out in the space sector as being the headquarters of Myriota, a South Australia based satellite telecommunications company that provides secure and private direct-to-satellite Internet of Things connectivity. Its satellite connectivity is critical for industries like mining that operate in geographically remote locations where connectivity is essential but can be limited. In reflection of the utility of this existing capability, as well as the capability's future potential, the federal government's National Reconstruction Fund Corporation made a $25 million equity investment in Myriota, noting that enabling capabilities of the type produced by Myriota form one of the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation's seven priority areas. These enabling capabilities have the potential to diversify and transform Australian industry across many sectors and include:

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The role of space as a complementary defence capability was also recognised in the 2023 Defence strategic review. Now a domain of its own alongside land, sea, air and cyber, space moved further into conventional thinking as a key component of a more integrated force, taking its place as a key consideration with respect to defence planning. No longer considered as a supporting act to the Australian Defence Force, the shifting of the space domain into the Joint Capabilities Group allows that group to lead the way in terms of ensuring that space capabilities feature in project development, particularly with regard to national and alliance requirements. The Defence strategic review recognised the need to grow Australia's emerging sovereign space capability so that the Australian Defence Force can move beyond dependency on external providers.

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