Speech to the 2026 Southern Space Conference

Good morning, everyone.

Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Ngunnawal people, and pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Thank you to the Space Industry Association of Australia for the opportunity to speak to you today.

I’d like to particularly acknowledge Dan Lloyd, CEO of SIAA, for his collaboration with government.

Dan is a trusted and respected partner on both sides of the Parliament, and we really enjoy working with Dan and have a very productive partnership with him. 

Thank you, Dan, for all the work you do for the industry. 

I’d also like to acknowledge some of the other speakers that you've had at the conference today and yesterday:

• Minister Conroy, who described some of the work underway in his portfolio, and the centrality of space to the Government's defence agenda
• Steve Georganas, who has been a great advocate for the sector in the Government
• Our great colleague His Excellency Gabriele Visentin, EU ambassador
• Enrico Palermo, head of the Australian Space Agency, 
• and of course the Australian of the Year, Katherine Bennell-Pegg.

I am conscious that the people in this room are key to helping decision makers set the direction for Australia’s space sector, so I appreciate this opportunity to talk to you about the Government’s agenda.

It was almost exactly a year ago to the day that I gave my first official speech as a government minister, and that speech was to address SIAA's policy and strategy forum in Canberra.

At that time, fresh to the portfolio, I took the opportunity to outline why space is so important, and why it makes up a critical component of the Albanese Government's agenda.

That’s because the growth of the global space economy is outpacing most other industries.

In fact, while the global economy typically grows by a few percentage points each year, the space economy is expanding at three times that rate.

Estimates suggest it has already surpassed half a trillion dollars in annual value – and could approach or exceed US$1 trillion within a decade. 

These are numbers that simply can’t be ignored, and neither can the real-world impacts of the space industry.

Space is a key enabler across many parts of the economy and our society – including for our farmers, our emergency service workers, for our miners, and many other industries.

In the future, it will increasingly play a role in areas such as medicine and manufacturing.

When I spoke last year, I also outlined the central role that space played in our wider Future Made in Australia agenda.

What I hoped to set out last year was a clear message: space matters, and it matters to the delivery of this Government’s agenda. 

And through our engagement with the sector since that time, a clear message was the Australian space industry wanted a clear signal of where Australia can make its greatest contribution to the global space economy, and where the best opportunities lie in this rapidly evolving and interconnected ecosystem.

That is why the Government was able to launch, in the last few weeks, the Statement on Space, which was delivered by Minister Tim Ayres in Adelaide.

The purpose of that Statement was to deliver precisely that clear signal. 

The Statement identifies five focus areas where Australia’s space capability has unique opportunities, has market potential, and supports national resilience. The focus areas are:

• Trusted space services
• Spaceflight ecosystem
• Space platforms
• Microgravity ecosystem
• Exploration technologies  

The Statement as an important step in terms of laying out a pathway for our space industry and outlining the priorities we have.

Following the Space Statement, we now need to turn that direction into concrete and tangible actions.

I want to thank those of you in this room who participated yesterday in the Round Table, which was designed to take the direction from the Ministerial Statement on Space, and turn into real practical, pragmatic change that will deliver benefits from government to the industry.

The actions that we discussed yesterday and will continue to develop, are a critical input towards our goal of having more Australian ideas commercialised, more Australian space technology deployed globally, and more economic value created here at home. 

The Statement on Space will help the sector to continue delivering on this, and back in the investment that is already happening.

That investment includes $200 million through the National Reconstruction Fund in space-related companies over the last 18 months.

And more than twice that has been catalysed in through that investment, bringing in total more than half a billion dollars to the sector.

These targeted investments are providing us with the best possible opportunity to gain a slice of that US$1 trillion-dollar pie to which I just referred.

And they are backed in by the major investments being made in the Defence portfolio, which my colleague Minister Conroy outlined for you yesterday.

These investments underscore the strength of Australia's sovereign space capabilities and our growing reputation as a trusted partner in the global space economy.

We also know that collaboration with international partners is critical to the space sector’s growth.

Strong and ongoing connections are already opening new opportunities for Australian researchers and businesses to collaborate, compete and succeed on a global stage.

The Government recently tabled in parliament the treaty-level Space Framework Agreement with the United States.

This will create even more opportunities for government, businesses and researchers to collaborate on joint projects with NASA and other American partners. 

Opportunities like the Artemis II mission.

Australia was right there as the globe ushered in a new era of space exploration, stepping up as a valued partner with NASA on the recent Artemis II mission.

Two institutions located not far from where we gather today, the CSIRO-operated Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex and the Australian National University, both made significant contributions to Artemis.

ANU's Optical Quantum Ground Station is world-leading and record-breaking – downloading high-definition video and data from the Artemis II mission at laser communication rates of up to 260 megabits per second.

This successful demonstration, delivered in partnership with NASA, showcases exactly what Australian ingenuity can achieve, while reinforcing our reputation as a trusted partner in the world’s most ambitious missions.

At the same time, we are negotiating a treaty-level cooperative between Australia and the European Space Agency, which will drive innovation and improve industrial capability.

The agreement will formalise collaboration between Australia and Europe and create exciting new opportunities for our respective space sectors.

Crucially, it will enhance Australia’s access to the European space sector and raise the profile and competitiveness of Australia’s space industry globally.

CLOSING

Australia’s space industry is poised for growth. 

And the Statement on Space is one step in the journey. 

We want to take it forward with industry by developing practical actions needed to bring this direction to life.

Because the next phase of ambition, expansion and industry development must be targeted.

The Government’s plan is designed to boost Australian industry and capability, create high-value jobs and opportunities here at home.

I want to thank the SIAA and its members for their constructive engagement with the Australian Space Agency in shaping the Statement on Space.

It’s a major milestone for the local sector, and another significant step in what promises to be an exciting new chapter for the Australian space industry.

I look forward to sharing that journey with all of you.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of the program.