Topic: Private Sector Access to Outer Space
Country: Australia
Delegate Name: Alex Vankuiken
School: Grand Rapids City High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Australia position papers GLIMUN 2016 committees
Australia is yet to launch any satellites of its own, much less rockets, but we have participated in space projects and have always held interest in space. Much of what we do is through NASA and other countries' programs, and we have always been planning to create space infrastructure and yet have never done so ourselves. We do have some small programs, such as the Cooperative Research Center, which launched the FedSat-1 through a Japanese rocket. Space has never been very profitable for our country, so we have instead focused on other areas with greater benefits. This has left us behind in the space industry, and somewhat unwilling to step in somewhere that we cannot compete. We have a private sector with interest in going to space that have already launched many satellites, but they have waited for our action to take the first step.
Australia would definitely like to further open up Private Sector Access to Outer Space given that we have fallen behind ourselves, Private Sector Access to Outer Space being allowing non-government corporations and firms to enter space. It would be costly for our government to try and invest in space technology, and would likely end up being very slow going. What we would like to do is take a step back and let the market be the sole driving force of our space programs. This would give us many benefits, mainly by opening up a new industry for Australian firms, but also to have better communications on our own land to help increase our security. Australia is also positioned in a great place for space travel, being near the equator with mostly flat land. We understand that there could be safety hazards and questions of international security, but proper government regulation can and will prevent this. We certainly would like to invest in space, and opening up our private industries would benefit us greatly.
