By Luke Voogt
A call to bring a new Australian Space Agency to Geelong has received support from Mayor Bruce Harwood and local municipal alliance G21.
The Federal Government has announced $26 million to establish the 21st Century agency but is yet to name its permanent location.
Cr Harwood backed former mayor Darryn Lyon’s call on the front page of last week’s Indy to make Geelong the agency’s home.
“I think we’re in a position now where there’s not much we can’t actually lobby for, particularly when it comes to advanced manufacturing,“ he said.
Local research facilities and IT professionals moving to work in Geelong also put the city in a “strong position” for future discussions, Cr Harwood said.
Cr Harwood would talk with local federal and state MPs to see whether they had a “genuine belief” in a Geelong bid, he said.
G21 would “fully support“ any bid to establish the Australian Space Agency in Geelong, chief executive officer Elaine Carbines said.
“Our research capabilities through Deakin University, CSIRO and other institutions are enormous, as are our manufacturing capabilities.
“We’ve proven our ability to host national agencies with the establishment of the National Disability Insurance Agency in Geelong.“
A bid for the space agency would require support from the Victorian Government, she added.
Ms Carbines will next Monday lead a Geelong delegation to Canberra for Federal funding to match the Victorian Government’s $153.2 million for a City Deal.
Weeks later she will join a City Hall-led trip lobbying the Commonwealth to move public sector insurer Comcare to Geelong.
But neither delegation would lobby for the space agency on the Canberra trips because they both had a “sole focus,” Ms Carbines said.
Australian Space Agency boss Megan Clark would advise the Federal Government on the “most strategic” location following consultations with state governments, an agency spokesperson said.
The spokesperson declined to rule out possible locations for the agency following its first six months operating from Canberra.
The agency could provide a significant jobs windfall for a city or region that secures it permanently, with federal Innovation Minister Michaela Cash predicting that Australia’s space industry would employ 20,000 workers by 2030.
“Why wouldn’t you want it here,” Mr Lyons said last week.
But any Geelong bid would face still opposition, with other reports last week saying Western and South Australian governments were lobbying “heavily” to host the agency ahead of New South Wales and Victoria.
