Speech at the opening of the Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre

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Thank you for having me here at Lot Fourteen, here at North Terrace in Adelaide, at the beating heart of Australia’s growing space industry.  

Can I begin by recognising the Kaurna Miyurna people, whose traditional lands we meet on today, and pay respects to their Elders past and present. 

It’s important to acknowledge that here at Lot Fourteen, because Indigenous Australians were among the world’s very first astronomers.  

For thousands of years, before the Babylonians or the Egyptians or the Greeks, before Galileo ever looked into a telescope, First Nations people were observing the sun and the moon and the stars …  

And they were using these observations to inform their movements and navigation, their calendars and measurements of time, and their systems of weather prediction.

We are so very lucky in this country to have to have 65,000 years of Indigenous knowledge to draw.  

Just like we’re blessed with so many brilliant First Nations astronomers today, who are leading the way in their field, and inspiring the next generation to take up careers in science. 

Can I also acknowledge the many special guests who’ve joined us this morning, from the South Australian and federal parliaments: 

•    Susan Close, Deputy Premier of South Australia  
•    Tony Zappia, the federal Member for Makin 
•    Louise Miller-Frost, the federal Member for Boothby 
•    Marielle Smith, federal Senator for South Australia  
•    John Fulbrook, the state Member for Playford 
•    Michael Brown, the state Member for Florey 
•    Sarah Andrews, the state Member for Gibson 
•    Olivia Savvas, the state Member for Newland  
•    Catherine Hutchesson, the state Member for Waite  
•    Reggie Martin, Member of the Legislative Council   
•    Irene Pnevmatikos, Member of the Legislative Council 
 
Friends, scientists, distinguished officials, we’re all familiar with the essential work of the Bureau of Meteorology. 

Over the years, the Bureau has achieved the status of a beloved national treasure – like Phar Lap or the Opera House or Magda Szubanski.   

You’re one of the first websites we click on in the morning – and one of the last we check before bed.  

You’ve earned our respect and our confidence, because your work is crucial to so many elements of our national life.  

It can be simple and commonplace. 

Like whether to pack swimmers on our October beach holiday.  Or whether our daughter’s netball game will be washed out on Saturday morning.  

But it can be complex and consequential too.  

Like for our farmers – what kind of crop to plant this season, based on anticipated rainfall.   

Or for our policy makers – how to manage our precious river systems, in the middle of a third straight La Lina cycle.  

Or for those of us who, God forbid, find ourselves in danger – whether to evacuate or stay put, as a fast moving situation surges around us.

 
For over one hundred years, the Bureau has been providing these forecasts for weather events in the lowest ten kilometres of our atmosphere.  

And we all thank you for it.  

But Australians might be less familiar with the Bureau’s other work, including its work in space and space weather.  

 
And if I was to hazard a guess, I would say that most people probably don’t know just how significant this space weather can be to our lives on earth.  

It can be a bit hard to get your head around, but in simple terms, space weather is driven by the same force as weather on earth – the sun.

 
The sun gives us life, but it’s also a very unstable ball of gas, that can sometimes explode and combust – producing weather events that make their way towards earth.  

This could be a solar flare, or a geomagnetic storm, or a radio frequency blackout.  

If none of terms sound like good news, it’s because they’re not. 

These space weather events can cause havoc with our radio communications, our GPS trackers, our power grids and our satellites. 

Then think of all the secondary technologies that rely on these systems – like mobile phones, televisions, navigation systems, space travel, bank transactions, as well as military surveillance and other defence projects.  

That’s why space weather forecasting is so important. 

If we can predict and anticipate and measure these disruptive events, then we can alert the people who’ll be most affected by them … and we can mitigate the worst of their impacts.  

Australia's expertise in space weather goes back to the 1940s, when we established a prediction service to support high frequency radio. 

The Bureau has since built on that legacy, forming its Space Weather Service in 2008.  

And today, I have the honour of opening Australia's first centre for space weather forecasting.  

It marks an important milestone for Australia, for the Bureau and for our space weather capability. 

With the official opening of the Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre, the Bureau has teams focussing on the key areas Australia needs to better understand space weather.  

Inside this centre we have:    

• Specialist and dedicated space weather forecasters    
• Experts working with industry on research and development     
• IT specialists turning ideas into products
•  And to ensure the Bureau is meeting the needs of Australia's developing space industry, industry engagement experts 

They are all located here at Lot Fourteen, alongside eighty other space businesses and agencies.  

A collection of the brightest and sharpest minds, improving our understanding beyond the terrestrial, and helping to keep us safe and our society functioning in the face of space weather events. 

I thank and acknowledge the Kaurna people for their collaboration in preparing this site for the wonderful things it will produce in its future, and I trust the Bureau will honour the Traditional Custodians through their work every day.  

This will be a place of deep collaboration across the space sector, government and community in service of Australia's security and safety.  

It gives me a very great pleasure to formally open the Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre. 

Thank you.