Universities, space industry say Australian Space Agency will help reverse the brain drain interstate
The state’s chief young cheerleader for the space industry says he’s now more likely to launch his career in SA because of the establishment of the national agency here. And he’s not alone.
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READ BELOW: Adelaide to become ‘jobs magnet’: Morrison
- SPACE CITY: Why Adelaide’s over the moon
- EXPLAINER: So what is a City Deal anyway?
- REACTION: What readers thought of Space Agency deal
The state’s chief young cheerleader for the space industry says he’s now more likely to launch his career in SA because of the establishment of the national agency here.
And he’s not alone in thinking that way. “When I started university I always thought I’d have to move interstate to find a job. Now I’m being encouraged to stay in the state,” says Nat Shearer, the Australian Youth Aerospace Association’s SA representative.
The Adelaide University student, 22, says the agency will be a lure for defence and engineering firms to set up their space arms in Adelaide.
Flinders University space archaeologist Dr Alice Gorman agrees.
“Having the Australian Space Agency based in Adelaide will give a boost to the industries already located here. These include rocket launch services, Internet of Things satellites focusing on agricultural industries like wine and livestock, and satellite development,” Dr Gorman says.
“University graduates in aerospace engineering, mechatronics, and geographical information systems and many more fields may find employment without having to move interstate or overseas in future. It’s not just about science applications though. A fully developed space industry also needs ethicists, lawyers, environmental managers, anthropologists and archaeologists.”
UniSA Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Tanya Monro says it will help reverse the brain drain.
“Nothing has the power that space does to excite kids and get them thinking about STEM careers. We will be the place where space industry and space research will come together. I’m hoping beyond addressing brain loss interstate, it will actually start attracting people to SA,” she says.
Flinders Uni’s Australian Industrial Transformation Institute director John Spoehr says the agency “will help to accelerate the growth of advanced manufacturing and high tech jobs in the state … with major spillovers for other industries”. Adelaide University engineering faculty boss Professor Anton Middelberg expects greater demand for aerospace courses and that more local students will start their own businesses.
He says the agency will give SA “much more connectivity with the global ecosystem for space” so young people “can create a company that they know is going to have a customer”.
Dr Matt Tetlow, CEO of satellite maker Inovor Technologies, says the space agency and SA’s “fantastic talent pool” will help the industry shed its niche status.
“Every other space company in the world has been seeded by their local agency. We just haven’t had that until now. We’ve been battling on our own,” he says.
Adelaide High Year 8 space enthusiast Polina Brooks, 14, says: “I love looking at the different planets and how their environments are different to earth.”
Space deal sets Adelaide up as ‘jobs magnet’: Morrison
A city deal with the Australian Space Agency at its heart will turn Adelaide into a “job magnet”, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says.
And on the back of the landmark investment announced by Sanjeev Gupta in Whyalla on Monday, young South Australians have told The Advertiser that it would now give them the incentive they need to pursue their careers, and dreams, in their home state.
Australian Space Agency chief Megan Clark said she was looking forward to her organisation’s new home in Adelaide, which would be manufacturing the “satellites of the future”, while Space Minister Karen Andrews said the site would inspire generations of Australians, particularly girls and young women, to “shoot for the stars”.
The Advertiser revealed yesterday that the national agency would be based at Lot Fourteen, the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site.
Mr Morrison was yesterday in town to announce that move and went on to announce Adelaide would also get a City Deal.
That means the three levels of government have agreed on a vision for the innovation precinct at Lot Fourteen.
The agreement will run for at least 10 years, giving certainty to people moving into the site.
Mr Marshall said every other state had a capability in space but SA had won with a “very compelling bid”.
“We will make Australia proud with a fantastic facility here on Lot Fourteen,” he said.
“Just a year ago, this was a functioning hospital, our major hospital in SA.
“Now it is being transformed into Australia’s most exciting innovation precinct and having the innovation associated with a space agency here will just give it a massive boost.
“This place will absolutely go through the roof.”
Mr Morrison credited Mr Marshall’s enthusiasm for the decision, saying the Premier came to see him and said “Scotty, beam me up!” … so he did.
“So as a Premier and Prime Minister, we will go where no Premier or Prime Minister has gone before when it comes to the Space Agency here in SA,” Mr Morrison said.
The Federal Government has committed $41 million over four years to the agency, which will focus on building up the industry.
The City Deal will turbocharge the transformation of the Lot Fourteen site.
The Federal funding for the deal and other details will be announced next year in the lead-up to an election that Labor is broadly expected to win.
Cities Minister Alan Tudge said the deal would drive the jobs of the future by focusing on innovation, supporting population growth, and promoting culture and art.
He said the decade or more long deal with Adelaide would be one of the best in the nation.
“Because it’s centred on this precinct that will become one of the greatest hubs of innovation in Australia,” he said.
“It will drive the jobs of the future, so there’s opportunities for more South Australians to work here and to live here.”
Dr Clark said the site would be a “wonderful home”.
“We’re here to transform and grow the Australian space industry across the nation,” she said.
“This will be a door for us, for our international partnerships, national co-ordination and international partnerships are absolutely key to our success.”
There was already a pipeline of more than a billion dollars being invested into the space agency over the next three years, she said.
“It is a fantastic day, we’re looking forward to our new home in a really exciting precinct,” she said.
“This is going to be a hotbed of creativity.
“How exciting is it going to be to be manufacturing the satellites of the future for young apprentices?
“They’re going to be learning with the best in the world.”
The other states and territories, especially Canberra, also wanted to host the agency, which aims to triple the nation’s space revenue to $12 billion and create 20,000 jobs.
It was temporarily put in Canberra, and Labor’s policy is to put it permanently in Canberra.
Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick called on Labor to commit to keeping it in Adelaide, raising the concern they might “pull the plug” on the Adelaide move.
ACT chief minister Andrew Barr criticised the decision, calling it a “blatantly political manoeuvre”.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said her state was the natural home for an agency, and WA Premier Mark McGowan said WA shouldn’t be forgotten or ignored.
Federal Labor’s position is unclear; The Advertiser contacted them for comment last night.
Mr Morrison said that the leadership from the agency would impact the entire country, but having it all in one place gave it “a real focus … a real critical mass”.
— Tory Shepherd
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