Speaking on the Space Connect Podcast, the former prime minister said he hoped that the level of commitment would increase because supporting the industry was “very much in our national interests”.
However, he also argued the reduction in spending shouldn’t be a hurdle that “holds the industry back from realising its potential”.
Last year’s wide-ranging cuts to space projects included the axing of a $32.3 million pledge to help Australia’s spaceports, downgrading South Australia’s Australian Space Park, and abolishing the $1 billion National Space Mission for Earth Observation (NSMEO).
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Morrison, meanwhile, shocked the sector this month by taking a new job as chairman of Space Centre Australia, the planned spaceport in far north Queensland.
“What has excited me about the industry, returning to it now in this role, is the level of entrepreneurialism, the level of ambition, the level of commitment,” he told host Robert Dougherty in the episode set to be released later this week.
“It’s still relatively nascent compared to many other sectors around the world. But that said, I think it’s rapidly improving, rapidly expanding, with an improving and significant capability, which is being looked on very favourably, particularly in the US and through channels like the Quad and AUKUS.
“I think that presents really great opportunities for us, but [one that should be] very much private sector-led and public sector-supported. And that’s where I think the focus can add a lot of value.”
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Morrison also hailed Australia’s unique advantages that allow launch companies to reach a diverse range of orbits while also having access to land and nearby specialist talent.
“There aren’t too many places in the world, if at all, where you could nominate a country that has the sort of security that Australia has and the proximity to eastern equatorial launch that Australia has,” he said.
“And I think Australia developing when you think about the Quad, when you think about AUKUS, and what and where can Australia really add some value here?
“Then we’ve got to leverage our geography and that does tip you into some particular areas. But once you’re doing launch, and this is what space in Australia is really about, it’s about creating that broader ecosystem.
“So you need to manufacture and test close to where you’re launching. You need maintenance, you need people and training. You need all of these things.”
Australia is currently home to four spaceports: Equatorial Launch Australia’s Arnhem Space Centre in the Northern Territory, Gilmour Space Technologies’ Orbital Spaceport in North Queensland and Southern Launch’s orbital Whalers Way facility and suborbital Koonibba Test Range in South Australia.
Space Centre Australia’s proposed launch site would be in Cape York, the peninsula located in far north Queensland.
Little had been heard from the company in recent years, before Morrison’s appointment led to a series of announcements, including the purchase of a $30 million radar system.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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