The Australian Government on Friday, December 2 tabled its response to the report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources’ inquiry into developing Australia’s space industry.
The report made 38 recommendations for consideration of the Australian Government, encompassing coordination of national space policy, regulation, and sustainability of space activities, improving systems and processes, national priorities for investment and resilience, international partnerships, space science, workforce, and access to markets.
The report also recognised the role of space technologies in enabling a modern economy in Australia, as well as opportunities to derive greater benefits.
The government has agreed to only a small number of the recommendations, including:
- the importance of Earth Observation data to the Australian economy
- a dedicated section within the Australian Space Agency, the Office of the Space Regulator focusing on effective industry engagement
- participation in international forums such as the UN Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on Reducing Space Threats through Norms, Rules and Principles of Responsible Behaviours
- consider ways to secure the space workforce pipeline, consider options to improve education and training pathways and raise awareness of potential career pathways into the Australian space sector
The remainder of recommendations were either ‘noted’ or ‘agreed in principle’ with obvious caveats and non-committal statements.
The Full response can be accessed here.
