The Andrews Labor Government is stepping up its campaign for Victoria to play a key role in the new Australian Space Agency, which would grow our already thriving space industry – creating jobs and boosting our economy.
Minister for Industry and Employment Ben Carroll will today meet with Minister for Jobs and Innovation Michaelia Cash in Canberra to spruik Victoria’s space industry credentials.
Victoria has the experience and knowhow to make sure the new agency thrives. With one in five Australian space-related science and technology companies based here, Victoria is well positioned to coordinate national and international collaboration on space and attract global investment.
Some of the world’s biggest names in aerospace – including Lockheed Martin, Thales, Boeing and BAE Systems – carry out aerospace research, development and manufacturing in Victoria.
Lockheed Martin established its first multi-disciplinary research facility outside the United States, STELarLab, in Melbourne and the Bureau of Meteorology, the biggest user of space technology in Australia, is based here.
Victoria’s research and development capabilities in this sector are also world class. Swinburne has partnered with the California Institute of Technology which gives Swinburne unique access to the Keck Observatory in Hawaii.
La Trobe University has a $20 million partnership with the German Space Agency to develop and design a super-sharp-image camera to fly on the International Space Station – one of Australia’s largest civilian space hardware development projects.
The global space industry is forecast to be worth more than $1 trillion by 2040. Victoria can help boost Australia’s share of this market to tens of billions of dollars, potentially creating 20,000 jobs across the country.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Industry and Employment Ben Carroll
“Victoria already has the experience and knowhow to help Australia’s space industry grow and create thousands of new jobs.”
“If the Australian Space Agency is to succeed, we need a truly national approach. Victoria has the proven expertise in design and manufacturing – it makes sense for us to be a key player in the new agency.”
“There is more to the space agency than just its physical home – Victoria is the perfect location to design, manufacture and analyse data from satellites.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020