Good morning, everyone.

It is great to be back here at Geoscience Australia’s headquarters to celebrate your 25^th anniversary, more than 80 years of geophysical science in Australia, and to launch your new 10-year strategy.

For an organisation that measures changes over millennia, a 10-year strategy does seem remarkably short.

But I congratulate Melissa and the amazing team here at Geoscience Australia for the fabulous work you have done on the Shaping Our Future strategy, and for the great work you do every day for our country.

Geoscience Australia's history can be traced back to establishment of the Australian Survey Office in 1910 – the first time Australia had national capability to map our continent.

But the big development came in 1946 when Labor Prime Minister Ben Chifley established the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics.

It was a decision that reflected a big idea and a big ambition.

Chifley wanted to build a national geological survey organisation comparable to those in the United States and Canada, and one that could help invigorate Australia’s post war mining industry.

He understood that Australia’s future prosperity would depend on understanding our wide brown land.

So for the first time, the Australian government created a permanent organisation for the study of geology – the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics.

The results of that decision have been profound.

It supported the great expansion of Australia’s mining and petroleum industries since the 1960s – industries that have underpinned our post-war economic growth and which continue to support our economic strength and resilience to this day.

Industries backed by systematic geological and geophysical mapping of the continent and the top-class science provided by Geoscience Australia and its predecessors.

In 2001, the decision was made to create the geoscience powerhouse that is Geoscience Australia, expanding upon our geological services and combining them with mapping, positioning and satellite data.

Understanding the Earth beneath our feet – from the Earth’s core up into space and the oceans that surround us – remains fundamental to our resilience, innovation and prosperity.

Today, the launch of Geoscience Australia’s new strategy sets the direction for the next decade of that vital mission; harnessing the full impact of integrated geoscience for the benefit of all Australians. 

This strategy affirms the importance of Geoscience Australia to Australian life.

It recognises that the work it does, the data it produces, and the insights it generates underpin decisions that – although they may not necessarily know it – affect every Australian.

From the minerals that power our economy –

The mapping and satellite positioning systems that quietly make modern conveniences possible –

To the hazards threatening our communities –

Geoscience Australia is there.

This new strategy is grounded in the Australian Government’s long-term priorities and in our national science and research agenda.

Making decisions in the national interest requires the best science.

Because the challenges ahead are complex.

Australia must continue to unlock new sources of minerals and energy.

We must manage changing land, water, and coastal environments.

And we must better understand natural hazards and make our communities more resilient and adaptable.

It’s not a short to-do list!

Geoscience Australia sits at the centre of all that work.

The strategy’s vision is simple but powerful: to shape Australia’s future through geoscience insights.

It sets out five focus areas where Geoscience Australia will concentrate its efforts over the coming decade:

• Resource potential;
• Positioning and navigation services;
• Earth analysis; 
• National land, marine, and coastal mapping; 
• And finally hazards and impacts, to help us better prepare for, and respond to, natural disasters.

The strategy’s focus areas reflect something important about Geoscience Australia.

The information it provides helps governments make better decisions, industry to invest with confidence, and communities better manage risks.

It’s deeply connected to both our present and our future.

I want to thank everyone involved in developing this new strategy.

Your work helps us understand Australia more deeply – and manage it more wisely.

With that, it’s my pleasure to officially launch Shaping Our Future.

Thank you.