It's Official, Australia Needs a Space Agency

Dante_J writes "In the final report published by the Australian Senate inquiry into 'The Current State of Australia's Space Science & Industry Sector' entitled 'Lost in Space? Setting a new direction for Australia's space science and industry sector,' it calls for the formation of a 'Space Industry Advisory Council' to oversee the creation of a fully-fledged Australian Space Agency. Of the top 20 GDP nations, Australia is the only one without a Space Agency, which impacts on many aspects of ordinary life, not to mention Research and Engineering endeavors. Every satellite operated by Australia is owned by another party and the costs of this alone are comparable to that of a Space Agency. The report is a tidy piece that drew upon submissions form Andy Thomas, and an impressive collection of Australian Academics and Space Science entities frustrated by successive generations of government apathy. While this report is welcome, lethargic Government action in a climate of competing concerns is not expected to stem the flow of Space Science brain drain out of Australia any time soon."

Comments

It needs a clue first

[EdIII]

Maybe it should try to concentrate on getting rid of some of the laws that take away freedoms in that country. Stop trying to filter the Internet into the ground. I dunno, how bout generally pulling it's head out of its ass.

I am speaking to the politicians of course, not the regular people. How can a government be so forward thinking as the people in this article desire it to be, when it so backwards thinking about the rest of it's policies?

Of course, what the hell am I talking about. I live in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave! We have *none* of those same problems.

The only reason NASA exists in my country is because it ALREADY EXISTS. If you have to convince politicians to fund it today, nothing would ever get done. It took a cold war, a charismatic President, and national pride to get our asses into space.

Re:It needs a clue first

[EdIII]

Privacy in general is a dying concept. People just don't care about it anymore.

That's just untrue. People don't understand it. Privacy to most people is still quite physical.

If I go to pee in my bathroom can somebody see me? No? Then I have privacy.

Do I have blinds and/or curtains on my windows? Yes? Than I have privacy.

The average person cannot understand, visualize, and basically even begin to comprehend that there is another dimension of reality we have created called cyberspace. That information flows back and forth in this dimension and has very real effects and serious consequences in our real world, "meatspace". This is not hyperbole. It is an absolute fact of our existence right now.

Unless you have experienced it directly, or have a more sophisticated understanding of it, you would have a very hard time understanding the interactions between your personal information in cyberspace and the "real world".

When you do finally explain to this to them, their lack of privacy, and how this lack of privacy can have real negative effects on their lives.... it becomes important to them all of the sudden.

You need to stop perpetuating this myth that people have an informed decision about privacy and still choose to look at is as antiquated and unimportant. I have met VERY few people that actually feel this way and ALL of them have a VERY sophisticated understanding of it and deliberately choose to live in a world with absolutely no privacy and/or anonymity. They make interesting and intelligent arguments about it's function in a higher society.

They are the exception. Most people are just ignorant and think "Privacy" is about protecting their naughty bits.

Re:It needs a clue first

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually Kevin Rudd's plan to censor the internet is opposed by 80-90% of Australians the polls that I've seen, it's that unpopular. Rudd is quite conservative/religious and even though most Australian's aren't, the small religious population voted for him and he needs to repay the favour, by targetting porn

Why the religious just leave everyone else the hell alone

Re:It needs a clue first

[Anonymous Coward]

It's pretty obvious that people either don't care or are in support of the legislation.

and rather than go with the more obvious (and lazier) option, you think that people are in support of it? no poll run ANYWHERE has shown less than 90% against it

Re:It needs a clue first

[Chuck Chunder]

The vast majority of Australians think the Internet needs filtering

Complete bollocks. The vast majority of Australians couldn't give a flying fuck about internet filtering.

A vocal minority might be lobbying for filtering. The government probably knows it's an ineffectual waste of time but has a go anyway so that minority sees it as "doing something".

Re:It needs a clue first

[Anonymous Coward]

you truly are thick as shit

Re:Australian Space Research Institute

[aussie_a]

And yet we have a government paid institution for athletes. Truly our country is fucked up.

Re:I heard we had a fledgling agency in the 50's .

[thermian]

... until the US and the Brits told us "not to worry about it", and that was the end of that ...

Well it was more that the UK was reluctant to spend too much money on their space program, even though they actually got Blue Streak rocket working as a space delivery system, which they launched from Woomera, Australia, which would have got all the business that Arianne now has.

Since the Australian governments space program at the time was tied to the UK effort (they wanted to have their very own space port which other countries would use, primarily the UK), and they had no native spacecraft research program, that killed the Australian effort, regardless of what the Australian government wanted.

On the other hand Australia has been and remains a critically important part of the NASA space exploration program through its radio telescopes. In fact it was they who captured the footage of Neil Armstrong stepping on to the Moon for the first time.

Re:I agree, but let's keep it in perspective

[Barny]

For a country that still thinks "primary production" being their main industry is a good thing, I think we would be shooting ourselves economically in the foot.

We are a country whose children are taught that sport is the be-all and end-all of their education, there are a few good universities for the hard sciences, sure, but we have a nationally funded Institute of Sport, a mecca for a generation of kids who spend 3.9 years waiting for the next Olympics to start, so they can see their hero...

The UK govn was very short sighted

[Viol8]

I can't remember the exact quote but I think the government at the time saw no future in satellite comms. Another triumph for arts educated politicians with all the technical insight of Mr Bean and the foresight of a comatose goldfish.

Re:I agree, but let's keep it in perspective

[LordLucless]

there are a few good universities for the hard sciences, sure, but we have a nationally funded Institute of Sport

Which is probably a good thing. The Americans don't, and it appears that all their colleges sell out academics in the name of sport. Why on earth do you get a scholarship for your sporting ability?

Space Industry

[Davemania]

Australia needs to expand its high tech industry. Currently we don't have the a internationally competitive aerospace or high-tech industry to support a space program and that's one our big problems. The majority of Australian export are primary goods that is eventually made into something that is sold at significant higher price than what we export because Australia doesn't have a significant industry that can manufacture the goods. I think a major into space industry with home grown technology will do more good than just putting satellites into space and this requires major investment not just at the space program.

Re:Space Industry

[Whiteox]

Sure. I'm with you, but I'm very pessimistic about getting our act together and actually doing it.
90% of our highly trained tech/science/computer grads and other highly skilled, get snapped up overseas.
Who's going to do it? Sounds like a promise that's hard to keep. I hope I'm proved wrong though.

Re:We're Aussies!

[Klucki]

I was wondering how long it would take for someone to bring that up ;-)

I expect every article that mentions Australia to have a 'Great Firewall of China' joke within 5 minutes...