E AND OE PROOF ONLY
SENATOR KIM CARR: Good morning. Premier Carpenter and myself, we're here today to discuss the development of the SKA project, the Square Kilometre Array project which is an international project which the Australian Government and the Western Australian Government is working very closely together on with a view to working within a broader international community offering Australia as a possible site for such a project.
This is a project of enormous international and national significance.
This is a project that can advance humanity immeasurably, it is an opportunity for countries around the globe to come together and solve some of the big questions facing science, but also it's a project of enormous benefit for industry and for communities and for the opportunity for this country to be able to participate in a global project.
It is a project of probably unparallel size in terms of the 21st Century scientific achievement.
ALAN CARPENTER: Yes, I agree with that, Kim. Any - if you want to ask questions or, what?
QUESTION: I suppose, where are you at, with this, I mean, what more do you have to do now to secure this, what can you...
ALAN CARPENTER: Well, for a start can I just say that, and I extract the party politics out of this, having a joint bid from the Federal Government with the West Australian Government working in tight collaboration is an enormous benefit for us in pursuing this project.
We needed to be seen as a national project, it is now seen as a national project and with Kim Carr as the minister it is being pursued vigorously.
In Europe it will be pursued vigorously, in the United States all over the world and you've seen already Kevin Rudd profile the bid in Washington so we are a long way forward from where we were six months ago.
Even though the previous Government did put in some financial contribution, it is the force of the pursuit which is really going to pay dividends for us.
The Federal Government and the State Government now have committed $145 million into attracting this project.
We are developing infrastructure already. We are bringing people to Western Australia, radio astronomers to Western Australia who can observe for themselves the location, see what physical and human infrastructure we already have here and then be stepped through the possibilities.
So we're a long way advanced now compared to where you were six, 12 months ago and that's a very good thing.
QUESTION: Premier, how much of the $145 million has come from the state...
ALAN CARPENTER: Thirty.
QUESTION: ..and how much from the federal?
ALAN CARPENTER: Thirty so far. Thirty million from Western Australia, financial contribution so far but we are also working very hard and well with the Federal Government for the process.
For example native title, and the lease hold arrangements, there is Native Title over the area, the Wudjaari-Yamatji people have native title.
We need the cooperation of the Federal Government to help us work through that issue and we are getting that cooperation. So that is worth its weight in gold already.
QUESTION: So is this for - about sort of convincing people to come here from other countries and that this is the best bid?
SENATOR KIM CARR: What's happening at the moment is the European Union has put a large sum of money aside to have a scoping study undertaken so that the countries that are participating, 19 countries around the globe, can work out how to build a project. A project of this size.
Now this is a project that will have apparatus spreading across in Australia, 3000 kilometres.
This is a project which will be, will last for 50 years, it is a project that will have - require the computing capacity that does not currently exist.
The amount of data that will come out of this project will transform, absolutely transform, the way in which we are able to transmit information around the globe.
Now that will mean that we'll have to re-wire our entire research community.
This opens up huge opportunities for ICT industries. It opens up huge opportunities in regard to power generation.
These are major developments in terms of industry collaboration and these are the types of projects that the European Union is now funding to develop and we are part of that pre- the scoping study if you like.
The CSIRO is the lead agency for Australia and they are developing a prototype of the SKA.
And they are able to work with other countries in and around the world who are equally developing prototypes.
So the initial program now is about turning our resources, our human resources, our physical infrastructure resources, bringing them together and be able to put a case for why this should be built and bearing in mind that there's a project that has to last 50 years.
How we'll maintain it, how we'll ensure that it is secure and that it is able to produce the scientific results that we need for that length of time and that's what this conference is about, it's about identifying what progress has been made and what progress has yet to be made.
QUESTION: What do we have over our competitors, South Africa?
SENATOR KIM CARR: Well the - declare this a national project and while we obviously seek to work in a cooperative way, clearly we think, the Australian Government thinks, and the Western Australian Government believes, that Australia is the best site for this project.
This is a project, as I say, that has to be built and maintained for 50 years. We have one huge advantage, that is, we have a nation for a continent and a continent for a nation, with one government able to work nationally in a manner to ensure the security and the stability that is necessary to maintain a project for 50 years.
We have a huge track record in building major projects, building them on time and on budget.
We have enormous capacity in regard to maintaining such projects. We have leading scientists, probably world leading scientists, in radio astronomy, we are the best in the world in that area.
We have an acknowledgement across the globe on that matter. So we believe that we have the human skills, the human capacity, the physical infrastructure and we have the political will and capacity to ensure that a project of this size is able to be built and maintained and work effectively for 50 years.
QUESTION: Senator Carr, you said during your speech that competitions for cricket and rugby not for astronomy but given that Australia's looking at spending $145 million...
SENATOR KIM CARR: Yes.
QUESTION: ..and, you know, that it's going to be such an important project for Australia, how strongly will you be bidding during this conference and will you be holding polite discussions with the South African delegates who are here?
SENATOR KIM CARR: We always have polite conversations with people, it's what we're known for.
ALAN CARPENTER: Very polite.[Laughter]
SENATOR KIM CARR: ..and this is an international competition so we're serious. $145 million is a lot of money. This is worth it, worth every cent of it. We do, we make these commitments on a no regrets basis.
If we don't get it, that's unfortunate but the world will be better for actually having gone through this process.
We firmly believe that Australia is the best site for this project and we will be doing all that we can, either it politically and diplomatically, to draw attention to the strengths of our bid.
Ah, we're firmly of the view that this is the best place, scientifically, to locate such a large project and we will try to draw to people's attention the reasons for our belief in that matter.
QUESTION: We're still a few years off the actual position being decided whether it is Australia or South Africa...
SENATOR KIM CARR: That's right.
QUESTION: ..will the State Government and the Federal Government put in more funding before then?
SENATOR KIM CARR: Well...
ALAN CARPENTER: Well, we will be developing infrastructure to support this project and we already are and that will continue, we will continue to develop infrastructure that supports the project.
It's worth bearing in mind, and I think you'll find from the South Africans that they will say the same thing.
This isn't a situation where you build a useless facade hoping that you're going to get a project at the end of it. You are actually putting in place, incrementally, bits and pieces of infrastructure, pulling in people of expertise which deliver a benefit anyway, along the way.
It's happening now in Western Australia so we are already drawing in benefit. We're putting in place infrastructure.
We're going to have some physical infrastructure. We're drawing into Western Australia some of the most brilliant radio astronomers in the world.
The South Africans in pursuit of their bid, will be going through that same process, so they'll be developing infrastructure which will see them well for the future.
They'll be drawing and developing some expertise as well.
So it's not a loser gets nothing situation at all, and it doesn't end at the end of three weeks you stop spending, you just leave it open to the rest of the world to fund the project, it will deliver an ongoing benefit and there will be ongoing commitment from the state of Western Australia and from the Federal Government, but you step through this process picking up benefit along the way.
And it's been put to me often you're spending a lot of money, what if you don't get anything out of it?
Well we're already getting something out of it and the benefit that we're getting out of it and we anticipate that we can get out of it will far outweigh for generations to come the amount of money we're putting in to attract the bid in the first place.
SENATOR KIM CARR: The internationalisation of our national innovation system is the key to our future prosperity. There are problems in this world that no one country can deal with on its own.
I don't care whether it's the United States, China, any particular country no matter how big it is the future is in internationalisation and cooperation so the processes that we are going through at this time are of great benefit in themselves.
This is a sign of things to come, we're going to be doing a lot more of this in many other projects.
I want to see our national innovation system and people who have participated, our scientists, our researchers work on the global stage all the time.
I'm firmly of the view that we have nothing to fear from international competition, everything to gain.
We've got some of the best brains in the world here.
We haven't got the only people.
Three per cent of the world's knowledge is created in Australia, now that means 97 per cent of the world's knowledge is out there.
We've got to be part of it. We've got to join with other people and ensure that we are able to bring back to Australia the huge benefits that come from actually working with people around the globe.
ALAN CARPENTER: As Kim has said this is the biggest scientific project of the 21st century, we are ideally placed to attract this project here, and it will deliver, it already is and it will deliver massive benefit to the West Australian and Australian community, educationally, scientifically in all sorts of ways for generations to come.
It is delightful for us that we've now got the Federal Government working so closely, collaboratively, cooperatively and proactively to secure this project and we're confident that we can get it.
QUESTION: How are Native Title claims going?
ALAN CARPENTER: Well, very well. I mean these issues are complicated as everybody in Western Australia knows, but we've settled 770,000 square kilometres of land under Native Title in Western Australia.
I think that compares with something like 30,000 or 40,000 square kilometres in Queensland.
For eight years we have been pursuing settlement of native Title and delivering benefit from those settlements to the indigenous people.
And this is another great opportunity for the indigenous people of the Murchison mid west area, for them to be involved in the project in all sorts of ways and to draw down a benefit.
They know that, they're here now.
Anthony Dann is here today. They know, they can see what the opportunities are, not just the immediate opportunities but the ongoing opportunities for their children and for generations to come.
So it's not a matter of one side is opposing this process because they don't see a benefit.
Everybody can see huge benefit in it and it's just a mater then of working through the detail, and being respectful. And we are.
QUESTION: I notice the South African project managers are here today, are they helping you out with Australia's bid?
ALAN CARPENTER: Well look I've only just said hello to them. I'm sure being here is a wonderful experience in and of itself for them.
But as I said this isn't a winner takes all, loser gets nothing process, you draw benefit from pursuing the project in the first place, and they will be in South Africa accumulating a benefit by pursuing this project already.
But we are Australian, West Australian in my case as well, so we are going as hard as we can to make sure that ultimately the project is sited here.
We're perfectly positioned. As I said at the end of that speech in there our broad flat landscape and our wide open sky, our limited population and our relative isolation, our political stability make us the ideal site.
And we're confident that we can get it.
QUESTION: [Inaudible question]
ALAN CARPENTER: Yeah, the representative's here today, yep.
QUESTION: So how does it feel for the university students do you think to be involved in such a great project?
ALAN CARPENTER: Well today's Prosh Day, I thought they were all celebrating what was happening. [laughter]
I read some of those headlines, there's some journalistic talent out there as well.
Look obviously, ask them, they're here.
The universities are excited beyond belief about the opportunities that sit there now and which they can already plug into.
We've got some of the best radio astronomers in the world here now, that obviously creates a body of experience and knowledge which develops its own pool of talent around it, and for students coming through, the science the study of science and for students in radio astronomy and IT and all sorts of related ways this is the sort of chance that only comes along once every few centuries, once every few centuries does something like this present itself. Of course they're excited and so are we.
QUESTION: [Inaudible question]
SENATOR KIM CARR: Well I've recently engaged in quite high level discussions in Europe on this project. Kevin Rudd has taken the matter up in the United States, it's been raised with all our diplomatic missions wherever there is an interest.
I've had discussions with British ministers, and the response has been very, very strong.
We have recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Max Planck Institute in Germany which is one of the major research organisations in Germany. Our expertise is acknowledged, our interest is welcome.
Within the European Community in the last year the previous Government did not have one senior minister through the European Union in the previous 12 months.
The first four months of this year we've had four senior ministers.
The European Union is very interested in engaging with Australia and very I think very pleased to be able to engage in a much higher level about a broader range of scientific and research projects which is exactly what we want to do.
ALAN CARPENTER: You know no disrespect to the previous Government because - but with all due respect to the previous Government the change of Government and the new Minister, new approach means we are light years ahead, if you'll forgive the pun.
QUESTION: You said that WA had already received some benefits at this stage in the project. Can you tell us what those benefits are?
ALAN CARPENTER: Sure. We're developing infrastructure already in that mid west area. We are providing educational and scientific opportunities for our universities and student body, and we've got among us now in Western Australia some of the world's leading radio astronomers permanently based here.
We've got two who have Premiers fellowships, Peter Quinn who's over here and Peter might be able to provide you with more pointed information if you like. And Mr Staveley-Smith.
There are other senior radio astronomers based now at our West Australian universities.
So as I said before it's not a matter of you get nothing until the decision is made ultimately in a few years' time.
We are in the process already of developing physical infrastructure, radio astronomy physical infrastructure, IT capacity, human capacity right here right now and that's delivering us a benefit already.
SENATOR KIM CARR: Three hundred firms have registered to work with the project and so that will have enormous knock on effects for manufacturers, for providers of services.
So for Australian industry this is a boom project as well, not just for research training which is, in itself very, very important for research infrastructure, for super computing, the fact is we will need a major new super computing capacity in this country.
But also it will be opportunities for manufacturers and for engineering projects participants.
*ENDS*