Mr RIPOLL (10:45 PM) —I want to take a few minutes tonight to speak about a fledgling industry in Australia, one that has great potential. I am talking about the Australian space industry. There is enormous potential in Australia not only for that industry but also for the spin-offs that might come from it if we were to get serious about that industry. A range of commercially viable launch sites is just starting to take off in Australia. It is time that we seriously looked at Australia entering the space race and ultimately entering a new wave of industry which has a great potential for this country.

Australians are pretty well regarded around the world for their innovation and their ability to think outside the square. But over the years, we have had a huge brain drain from our shores to other countries which have been more able to accommodate what we produce here. We need to be the competitive player and join in the new age in the 21st century. Why would Australia, particularly, be good at doing this? There are a number of key reasons why we would be good at it but there are also a number of key reasons why we actually need it. It would be fantastic for our defence capabilities, it would be great for communications, for satellite launches obviously, and potentially great for a number of things such as space exploration, remote sensing of the earth's interaction, weather forecasting and even perhaps, in the very distant future, space tourism or the prospect of some other space travel, no matter how far away that is.

Australia's use of satellites has been growing over the past 30 years, albeit very slowly. In 1975 there was one satellite used by Australia, and that has grown to over 15 in use by 1995. But those have come at a very high cost because we have had to use overseas facilities and monitoring facilities to keep an eye on our satellites. In the long term, involvement in these programs both in the world and in Australia has grown. It is growing at an exponential rate and will grow markedly in the future. The industry is growing but it is focusing on much lower cost projects and lower cost launches. There is a new availability of satellites that are recycled missiles from Russia. These run off a solid fuel cell rather than a liquid or gas type fuel cell, are much more environmentally friendly, are much cheaper and much easier to launch, and require a lot less infrastructure. These are the ones currently being proposed for use in Australia. The government has a role in the cooperative research centre to maintain and create a link for this industry between different participants in the private sector and between government, universities and other areas.

You might ask: why would it be good for us? It would be great for a number of reasons. It would particularly be good for local economy. For example, Woomera, an area that has been proposed as a launch site, is screaming for some investment, screaming for a new industry. I think this one would be very well placed there. The infrastructure already exists. Woomera, as most people would know, would be perfectly placed for this. The South Australian government has shown quite a lot of interest. There are a number of other sites in Australia that would be very well suited, for example Darwin. I am sure the north could do with a boost to the economy. Christmas Island might be a bit far away, but it is still within Australian territory. Gladstone in particular has also been highlighted as a potential launch site. I think this is something that Queensland should eagerly seek; it would have potential to boost the ever growing and very good Queensland economy—very well managed, might I say, by the Beattie Labor government.

The issue of competitors would be raised. Our competitors would be in the Asian region. They would certainly include China, and perhaps Indonesia, India, Japan and a few others. We have one great advantage over all those other countries: we have one of the best and most stable political democracies in the world. That would be a great boost to anybody seeking to use our country as a launching site. We need the government to get into a comprehensive national program and get serious about the space industry. It was in Ben Chifley's day that Australia took its first steps into space, but there was a long drought after that—some 30 years. But the timing now is right. Australia is a place of great innovation. We really could use the boost to the economy from this new industry. (Time expired)