Senator Kim Carr

Labor welcomes today’s announcement of Dr Megan Clark AC as the inaugural head of the Australian Space Agency.

Dr Clark was a passionate and effective Chief Executive Officer of the CSIRO between 2009 and 2014.

In that role Dr Clark stood firm as a defender of CSIRO and continued to inspire staff at a time when science too often came under attack from people who should have known better. 

Malcolm Turnbull’s 2018-19 Budget is a mirage when it comes to investment in science, research and innovation.

Despite lofty claims of billions of dollars, the actual amount of additional spending on science and research initiatives is only $33.9 million in 2018-19.

A Shorten Labor Government will ensure that more trains are built in Australia by local manufacturing workers – establishing a National Rail Plan to ensure that every dollar of Federal funding spent on rail projects goes towards creating local jobs and protecting our rail industry.

Australia will spend more on rail in the next decade than on submarines. It’s important to get that investment right.

Labor welcomes the revelations – via a unsourced leak to the ABC – that the Government will act to set up and fund an Australian Space Agency in next week’s budget, to be led by former CSIRO Chief Executive Officer, Megan Clark.

However, Labor is concerned that the Liberals will use the establishment of a space agency as an excuse to engage in marginal seat pork barrelling.

Turnbull should adopt Labor's plan to safeguard local jobs against the threat of trade cheats dumping below-cost steel, aluminium and other goods in Australia. 

Labor welcomes the Trade Minister's confirmation today that Australia is permanently exempt from US steel tariffs.

But the real threat to Australian jobs is cheap foreign goods being dumped in our local market. 

In May 2017, Labor led the way by announcing that in Government we would establish a four year SMART visa for the best and brightest overseas talent in Science, Medicine, Academia, Research and Technology.

Labor’s new SMART visa would mean the best and brightest talent from around the world would have the opportunity to develop their ideas in Australia – with a pathway to permanent residency for educators, innovators and researchers of a global standing.

A Shorten Labor Government will create an Australian Space Industry Program to promote the development of the Australian space industry.

Labor will invest up to $35 million with additional co-investment coming from industry and university consortiums.

A Shorten Labor Government will create an Australian Investment Guarantee (AIG) that provides accelerated depreciation incentives for new capital equipment investments.

Labor’s new AIG will ensure Australian industry has the support it needs to keep up with global developments and make the investments needed to improve productivity and remain globally competitive.  

Labor urges Malcolm Turnbull to call President Trump to lock in exemptions for Australian steel and aluminium from the President’s tariffs announced overnight.   

The President has just announced a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminium imports, but did not disclose whether these new tariffs would apply to Australian steel or aluminium imports.  

A Shorten Labor Government will invest $10m to build a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Innovations Centre in Preston to best prepare the students of northern Melbourne for the jobs of the future.

The Centre, based at the Northern College of the Arts and Technology (NCAT) in Preston, will be the first of its kind.