Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to share with the Senate two very exciting projects: one under way in Western Australia now, the other one to be developed should we be successful. I am speak of the Square Kilometre Array or SKA which, when constructed, will be the biggest science experiment in the history of the world. Western Australia is one of two places in the world, the other being South Africa, which are bidding for this 19-country, international megascience project. But the first project about which I wish to speak occurs at Gingin, some 70 kilometres north of Perth, and that is a project associated with gravity waves.

Gravity is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the force which structures the universe. It creates the galaxies, stars and planets. It switches on nuclear furnaces in stars and brings light and life to the universe. In fact, gravity shapes space and alters time. But it is still shrouded in mystery, and its secrets are only now starting to be uncovered.

We see the universe out there—and soon we will be able to hear it. As part of this vision, the Gingin gravity precinct, 70 kilometres north of Perth, has been established. It houses Australia’s International Gravitational Observatory project and a public education centre which enables maximum public benefit from the research being undertaken. This is essential in the Southern Hemisphere as our node of a worldwide gravitational wave telescope, of which there five around the world. The setting is particularly important. Gingin, for those who do not know it, is in an isolated area ideal for the sorts of sensitive experiments that are necessary.

In other words, we can see far into the universe now with telescopes; it will not be long before we will overcome the deafness that we currently experience. It will give us a new dimension, a completely new spectrum—a sense that we have never before imagined. It was back in 1886 that electromagnetic waves spawned a dramatic and unforeseen revolution. This 21st century will be the century of gravity waves. Detection of gravity waves requires a worldwide array of observatories, all linked by internet. It is critical that, here in Australia, we have the southern arm of that coverage.

You might ask—as well you might, because often it is—‘Is this just pure science for the purpose of science?’ The answer is no. There are significant practical and economic benefits to Australia—spin-offs of this science. Radar oscillators, for example, will allow commercial aircraft to better identify air turbulence faster and be able to avoid it in commercial air traffic. Secondly, the same oscillators will allow radar to detect stealth bombers, which, currently, of course, we cannot. Thirdly, gravity gradiometers, as they are called, are used in mineral exploration: aircraft can pass over the land and, passing over ore bodies, detect them, using gravity effects. You would understand the enormous significance of that as an international service to have. Fourthly, our physicists have developed and now patented a land based device able to accurately monitor coastal ocean waves. This device can measure the growth of potentially life-threatening swells. This not only saves the need for expensive buoys. We would all understand the impact of tsunamis, especially in this region of the world. Fifthly, gravity wave research has allowed the establishment of the only clock in the world stable enough to allow atomic clocks to reach their ultimate precision. And on it goes—GPS navigational systems will be revolutionised by this technology; even a greenhouse-gas-minimizing air conditioning concept has been developed.

Co-located at the Gingin gravity precinct is the Gingin Observatory and the Gravity Discovery Centre. The whole concept of that, of course, is to encourage the public interpretive process so that young people, especially, can become engaged and involved in, and gain an understanding of, space science and astronomy.

This centre allows the public to participate and share in the excitement of discovery. It is a great initiative not only for our state but for Australia. WA happens to be a very good place, as many are in Australia, for stargazing. I know Tasmania and the centre of Australia are tremendous. We have great benefits when it comes to searching the stars. Astronomers worldwide recognise the superior part of the Milky Way Galaxy is best visible in the Southern Hemisphere. We are fortunate in Perth. Because we are isolated, our night skies have the least amount of light and the least amount of pollution or dust anywhere in the world. This is best experienced on the darkest of nights. This capacity to be able to provide an environment which is relatively free of dust and the like is diminishing around the world, and that is giving Australia an international reputation in the world of astronomy in which our state and this country are fast becoming world leaders.

The observatory houses the largest telescope in Australia, which is available for public access, and is renowned for having some of the darkest and best facilities. It was only on 8 November that the telescope, known as the Zadko telescope, happened to be in the right place to spot a cosmic explosion called a gamma ray burst. That took place billions of years ago. The technology is such that without any human intervention the telescope was able to robotically move in the direction of the burst as a result of a signal from a NASA space satellite. The instrument was able to spot and record a flare that lasted only a few seconds but which had its origin billions of years ago. This is an incredible world in which we exist. That telescope is linked to others—one in Chile, one in France—and they are all seamlessly engaged.

In the time available to me I want to move to the Square Kilometre Array, which I mention when I commenced this discussion. This is a $2.5 billion project run collaboratively with 19 countries around the world and in Western Australia, well east of the town of Geraldton, is one of the two telescopes. And we would hope, with the amount of effort, the amount of work, the brilliance of the scientists and some of the features to which I will refer, that we will be successful in this particular project. As I have mentioned it is regarded as the most ambitious international science project ever devised. It will be able to look back to the dawn of time and to observe the first stars and the most distant galaxies. It is not one single instrument but it is many thousands of antenna all linked together to form one giant array, with possibly 3,000 dishes all at 15-metre diameters.

In October 2006 it was announced that we and South Africa would be the two countries that would compete—and by ‘we’ I mean Australasia because it is an Australia-New Zealand project. We think that we will be able to deliver the best science and the best non-science benefits to the world. Why? It is an incredibly quiet site due to low population density. The area is known as the Shire of Murchison. For those of you who may or may not know the area, it is north of a town called Mount Magnet, a mining area, and as a result of enthusiastic cooperation at all levels of government—local, state and federal—they have already been able to put into place processes to ensure that well beyond the 50-year life of the project we will be able to maintain that quietness. Some of you may have heard of the proposed Oakajee project, a port project north of Geraldton. Already the proposed railway out to the mines has in fact had its area and its trajectory changed so that it will be sufficiently far from the SKA so as to not interfere in it. We can offer a large tract of flat land at low cost. As I said, we have in the one country—that is, across Australia—and then extending to the New Zealand, somewhere between three thousand and 5½ thousand kilometres of area for stations right across Australasia. This is very important for resolution. The existing infrastructure is already in place. We already have a backhaul line from Geraldton to Perth, and CSIRO is very actively involved. As time permits, over time it is my intention to keep the Senate informed of the progress of this project.