Co-host Western Australia to play key SKA role

Science and Innovation Minister John Day today welcomed Australia's role, together with South Africa, as a dual-host of the world's largest radio astronomy telescope - the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

  • International SKA Organisation announces dual hosting arrangements

  • Australia/New Zealand and South Africa will share the project

  • Project has already delivered significant benefit to WA

Science and Innovation Minister John Day today welcomed Australia's role, together with South Africa, as a dual-host of the world's largest radio astronomy telescope - the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

Mr Day said the announcement that Western Australia would play a key role in the delivery of the SKA marked a major milestone in the project's development and reinforced the State's reputation as a world-leader in radio astronomy research.

"While there are still more discussions to take place and further decisions to be made, the International SKA Organisation's announcement is a significant step towards the realisation of the wider SKA project," he said.

"One of the world's most sophisticated radio telescopes - CSIRO's Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) - is under construction at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) in WA's Mid-West and astronomy data is already being transmitted from the MRO via the Murchison Widefield Array.

"Furthermore, the Western Australian Government supported the establishment of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy (ICRAR), a joint research venture between Curtin University of Technology and The University of Western Australia.

"ICRAR has attracted some of the world's leading researchers to the State and is achieving research excellence in astronomical science and engineering.

"Other investments include the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre in Perth; a Perth-Geraldton high-speed broadband connection; and renewable energy infrastructure around the radio astronomy projects.

"These initiatives will continue to have benefits for Western Australia and the international scientific community and will also bring economic and social development opportunities to the Mid-West region."

The Minister said a dual-site arrangement would create closer ties with South Africa and build on the substantial investment in infrastructure and expertise that already existed in both locations.

"This announcement reinforces the strong international collaboration already in place with the SKA project and lends further weight to the potential for business opportunities with partners such as China, with a recent visit by a high-level Chinese delegation to the ASKAP site," he said.

Mr Day said the project had bipartisan support at both State and Federal level and the Western Australian and Australian Governments had collaborated closely on the project to this point, and would continue to do so in its further development.

      Fact File

  • Two candidate sites, one in Australia and New Zealand and one in Southern Africa, have been bidding to host the SKA since 1995

  • It was announced earlier today by the International SKA Organisation that the SKA would be divided between both sites

  • The SKA project involves more than 70 institutions in 20 countries in a global initiative that will engage in revolutionary radio astronomy science and drive information and communication technology development

  • For more information, visit http://www.ska.gov.au

Minister's office - 6552 6200