Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

As you can see, Mr President, I take some relish in answering it. I would have thought that an answer like this should have gone through the government’s tactics committee because it is the sort of question we enjoy answering. It demonstrates that this government is committed to international collaborations on major pieces of research infrastructure. It is true that the previous government did undertake some projects in this area. However, the previous government failed to acknowledge the role of the SKA in terms of its pursuit of international collaboration. It failed to appreciate the significance of this piece of infrastructure. It failed to understand just how significant this piece of infrastructure is for industry and for manufacturing in terms of skills development. This is a project which will last for 50 years; it is a 50-year commitment. This is a project which Australia is uniquely suited to pursue, although I note that the international community will have to choose between Australia and South Africa. So the bid is quite important. I invite the opposition to support the government in its determination to secure this project for Australia.