Senator Kim Carr, former Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, announced the establishment of the Space Industry Innovation Council (Space Council), as part of the Government’s response to the inquiry by the Senate Committee on Economics into the state of the Australian space science and industry sector on 19 November 2009.
The establishment of the Space Council recognises the importance of the space sector to Australia. National security, climate change, weather, natural resource management, forestry and agriculture, and disaster management are reliant on space technologies.
The Space Council will provide strategic advice on innovation priorities to the Minister, champion innovation in the space sector and build connections with other organisations, including the Enterprise Connect network. The Space Council will also consider relevant implications for space science and industry arising from the Defence White Paper and the National Security Science and Innovation Strategy.
Senator Carr stated that "the Council will examine Australia's current civil space activities, risks and strategic priorities with a focus on Earth observation, satellite communications and navigation."
The Space Council will work closely with businesses, unions, researchers and government in achieving its goals.
Council Members
On 25 November 2009, Minister Carr announced that Dr Rosalind (Ros) Dubs would chair the newly established Space Council. The full membership of the Space Council was announced 20 January 2010:
CHAIR - Dr Rosalind Dubs |
Former Deputy Vice Chancellor at University of Technology Sydney |
Dr Sue Barrell |
Observations and Engineering Branch, Bureau of Meteorology |
Mr Brett Biddington |
Chair, Space Industry Association of Australia |
Dr Philip Diamond |
Chief of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science |
Mr Raydon Gates |
Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin Australia Pty Ltd |
Dr Ben Greene |
Chief Executive Officer, Electro Optic Systems Holdings Ltd |
Professor Peter Hall |
Professor of Radio Astronomy Engineering and Director, Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy, Curtin University |
Mr Chris Jenkins |
Managing Director, Thales Australia |
Mr Rob Lorimer |
Business Director, Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship, CSIRO |
Dr Roger Lough |
Former Chief Defence Scientist |
Dr Naomi Mathers |
Research Scientist & Program Developer, Victorian Space Science Education Centre |
Dr David Nayagam |
Astronaut candidate with the European Space Agency |
Professor Andrew Parfitt |
Pro Vice Chancellor, Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment, University of South Australia |
Dr Chris Pigram |
Chief Executive Officer, Geoscience Australia |
Dr Susan Riding |
R&D Manager, BAE Systems |
Mr Paul Sheridan |
Director Satellites, Optus |
Dr Terry Stevenson |
Chief Technology Officer, Raytheon Australia |
Dr Michael Green |
General Manager, Innovation and Space Branch, Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research |
Innovation Profiles
Innovation Profiles are real stories of innovation in industry in Australia. Twenty five members of the industry innovation councils share their views and experiences as innovation leaders on-line in web, video and print formats.
Further Information
Further information on the Space Industry Innovation Council, including background information is available in the download below.
View Document: to view the complete version of this document, you can:
Download the Space Industry Innovation Council Flyer.pdf, 243KB
Council Contacts
The Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education provides secretariat support to the Space Industry Innovation Council.
Members of the Space Industry Innovation Council are available for conferences or speaking engagements. If you wish to request a member speak at your event, please contact the Space Policy Unit.
Space Policy Unit
GPO Box 9839, Canberra ACT 2601
Ph: 61-2-6276 1166
Email: space@innovation.gov.au
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