Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ensuring Australia has strong, reliable and resilient sovereign capabilities is a priority we all should and must share. In Australia, it's no small thing to say that we are lucky to have some of the best researchers, developers and specialised manufacturers in the world. One such company that is pushing the boundaries in research and development is AnteoTech. AnteoTech is located in Brisbane Technology Park, and I had the pleasure of recently visiting this great Australian company. The team at AnteoTech introduced me to their two key areas of research—the first being life science, encompassing point-of-care diagnostic testing and solutions, and the second being energy, with a core focus on revolutionising battery design. Both areas are key to securing Australia's future.

The life science team at AnteoTech have developed AnteoBind. AnteoBind is a unique and powerful solution that makes point-of-care testing and diagnosis more effective, efficient and, more importantly, accurate. Not only can AnteoBind be used to test for diseases like COVID-19, it has the potential to be used for testing in other areas, such as the agricultural industry, which is worth over $71 billion to our economy. Foot-and-mouth disease in Indonesia still poses a very real and very current threat to the Australian livestock industry. Whilst we can be thankful for our strong biosecurity measures that have so far kept this disease from re-entering Australia, we cannot become complacent. Imagine having a point-of-care test at the airport, ready to use for returning Australians and for incoming tourists. A point-of-care test for foot-and-mouth disease would help prevent this disease from re-entering our country, which would devastate our livestock industry and would endanger our food security.

Research into secure, dependable and cheap electricity and storage is vital for Australia's future, and that is exactly what the team at AnteoTech's energy division are doing. With the ever-increasing performance demands for energy storage systems, consumer electronics and electric vehicles, AnteoTech's research and development into more cost-effective, lighter and more compact silicon based batteries is crucial for the development of a green economy. I am pleased to say that I'm working with the Minister for Industry and Science and the member for Moreton, and together we're organising a joint visit to this great Australian and Brisbane company. I'm looking forward to visiting AnteoTech with my colleagues so that they can see first-hand the incredible potential this company has in helping to ensure a stronger and more resilient Australia.