Melissa Price: Prospect of fighting wars in space is no science fiction

Thousands congregated at the weekend for an event of national and international significance. I am not referring to the AFL grand final in Melbourne, but instead the start of the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney.

This event is expected to draw more than 10,000 people from across the globe involved in the exponentially growing space sector.

And when I say exponentially growing, I mean it. McKinsey recently estimated the global space economy is worth US$630 billion and will grow 9 per cent annually to $US1.8t by 2035. To put this into perspective there are currently around 12,000 active satellites and this is projected to reach 60,000 by 2040.

Australia should be at the forefront of this revolution.

Our geographic location, vast open spaces, clear skies and homegrown talent and innovation provide us with a massive advantage in terms of launch capacity, world leading research and advanced manufacturing.

The last Coalition government recognised this opportunity and understood the importance of space for Australia’s future.

We established the Australian Space Agency and invested record amounts towards research and enabling infrastructure, as part of our goal to triple the domestic space sector to $12b and to create an extra 20,000 jobs by 2030.

We also recognised space as a contested area between nations and that we needed to stay ahead of our adversaries. That’s why we invested billions towards developing sovereign defence space capability.

Unfortunately, the change of government demonstrated a stark difference between our vision for space as being central to both national security and economic prosperity, and Labor’s vision for space as being a budget line to cut.

In their first term Labor ripped more than a billion dollars from our space sector. This included cuts from the Australian Spaceports program, the Australian Technology into Orbit program and the high-profile Moon to Mars program. The abolition of the $1.2 billion National Space Mission for Earth Observation was of most concern.

This investment would have seen Australia design, build and operate our own satellites to obtain information that is central to everyday life — from forecasting weather and responding to natural disasters through to managing our environment and supporting our farmers. This mission would have created 500 jobs and involved more than 100 Australian suppliers.

Consider these cuts in terms of Labor’s so-called Future Made in Australia agenda.

The then CEO of the Space Industry Association of Australia lauded NSMEO as the “most strategic and significant space public policy in 40 years” and that “Australia must be a country that makes things again” and that “the decision to cut NSMEO will leave Australia dependent on foreign providers”.

In recent months in my capacity as shadow minister for science and now as the shadow minister for defence industry I have been meeting with Australian space companies and industry representatives. A consistent message I have received is of disappointment in the Government’s attitude to the sector. The perception is that space is not a priority and that the Government doesn’t mind if we lose these opportunities to other countries.

The people I have met are patriotic innovators who are driven to establish a thriving industry in Australia that protects our national security, diversifies our economy and creates good local jobs.

Last month I moved a private members motion calling on the Albanese Government to re-prioritise Australia’s space sector including investing in our sovereign capability.

As I said then it’s not too late for the Albanese Government to turn things around. Hosting this year’s IAC means the eyes of the world will once again be on Australia. I understand the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Senator Tim Ayres, will be giving an address and I look forward to hearing it in person.

It’s critical the minister does not neglect this opportunity to right the wrongs of Labor’s first term. This address must signal we are open for business and that we want to be a global leader in space, not just a consumer.

A small initiative or one-off investment is not enough. We need a fully fledged strategy that will not only keep our existing companies from moving offshore, but a plan to grow the sector and to immediately invest in joint allied capacity in space.

The Coalition has called on the Government to increase defence spending to at least 3 per cent of GDP to make us as strong as possible as fast as possible. This means investing in all war fighting domains — including space.

Protecting our assets in space which enable our response here on Earth would further deter any aggression in our region. This is no longer science fiction and the Albanese Government must act now.

Melissa Price is the shadow defence industry minister