ScoMo lands surprise new role

Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has joined the Board of 1 of Australia’s astir ambitious abstraction manufacture companies.

Space Centre Australia, which is gathering Australia’s archetypal imperishable spaceport astatine Cape York successful acold northbound Queensland, has appointed Mr Morrison non-executive seat of the company.

Mr Morrison, who served arsenic Prime Minister from 2018-2022, said helium would usage the assignment to elevate the country’s budding abstraction sector.

“I’m thrilled to beryllium taking connected this caller relation with the squad astatine SCA arsenic they instrumentality their plans to go not conscionable the premier imperishable spaceport with the astir broad motorboat work offering successful Australia but a starring subordinate successful the abstraction motorboat assemblage globally,” helium said successful a connection connected Sunday.

“(CEO) James Palmer and the squad astatine SCA person already garnered the respect of abstraction assemblage leaders specified arsenic NASA and are gathering the commercialized and planetary partnerships needed to realise their comprehensive, agelong word and elaborate plans.

“I judge SCA volition contiguous a unsocial offering to planetary investors, providing some vulnerability to the accelerated increasing planetary abstraction sector, portion providing the stableness and durability associated with a accepted infrastructure investment.”

Mr Morrison’s assignment comes arsenic the national authorities relaxes restrictions connected US companies launching rockets from Australian ungraded done the Technology Safeguards Agreement, which means giants similar Elon Musk’s SpaceX could 1 time sprout rockets into abstraction from Australian motorboat pads.

Mr Morrison said Australia held advantages successful abstraction manufacture improvement done its confederation strategy with like-minded democracies, planetary partnerships and AUKUS pursuits.

“I was passionate astir the Australian abstraction sector’s potential, from a commercial, technological and strategical perspective, particularly erstwhile it comes to information and Defence,” helium said.

“Our AUKUS, Quad and bilateral partnerships are each perfect vehicles to alteration Australia to execute this potential. I americium excited to beryllium capable to travel done connected these initiatives successful this caller relation successful the backstage abstraction manufacture with SCA.”

Mr Palmer said Mr Morrison’s “vast experience” successful planetary governance and diplomacy would assistance the institution make a “world-class spaceport facility”.

“Scott’s heavy knowing of some Australia’s strategical presumption successful the planetary abstraction manufacture and the value of fostering beardown planetary partnerships volition beryllium instrumental arsenic we beforehand our ambitious plans to enactment the aboriginal of abstraction exploration and industry,” helium said.

SCA is headquartered successful Cairns and the institution plans to enactment debased earth, mean world and precocious world orbit launches and heavy abstraction exploration services from its spaceport.

Mr Morrison took implicit the Liberal Party successful 2018 and won the 2019 predetermination against Labor Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. He was defeated astatine the 2022 predetermination by existent Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.