Space Jobs Launch and Building Renaming Ceremony

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land, the Ngunnawal people, and pay my respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. 

I also pay my respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women who have served our nation in the past and continue to do so today.

Distinguished guests, members of the Australian Defence Force, industry partners… 

Isn’t this an exciting day? 

Defence as an enterprise has moved beyond the trinity of sea, land and air. 

We now operate in a world of five domains, with Space and Cyber the new frontiers.

These two domains are crucial to the success of the Australian Defence Force, and are an inherent part of our everyday lives. 

We live in the most challenging strategic environment since the Second World War.

Responding to that reality is a vital task for the Australian Government and for the ADF.

Technological advances continue to accelerate and are changing the nature of our work – and the nature of defence itself. It’s why we commissioned the Defence Strategic Review when we came to Government, to make sure the ADF has the capabilities it needs to defend our country. 

The ADF’s most important capability is its people.

Their dedication to serving our country is second to none.

It is our responsibility to equip them with the cutting-edge skills they need to be effective in dealing with emerging threats to our national security.

And why this facility, the Defence Space and Cyber School, is critically important.

Today we are taking one (more) “small” step to bolster national security and a giant leap to growing our defence capabilities in the emerging domain of space.

Today I can announce that Australians gravitating towards a career in the ADF can now apply for a job in Defence’s new frontier of space. 

These exciting new roles will grow the ADF’s capabilities in space operations, a significant step in building Australia’s sovereign space workforce. 

They’ll be among the first to undertake specialist space training here, to learn skills like missile monitoring, surveillance and reconnaissance, satellite communications and space operations. 

And they’ll join the frontline of the ADF’s effort to identify potential threats and protect critical national infrastructure. 

I encourage anyone who is interested to visit the ADF Careers website to learn more. 

It is fitting that today we are officially unveiling a new name for the building that will house this important facility.

Instead of “Building 488”, from today it will be called the Florence McKenzie Building, named after a truly extraordinary Australian.

Florence McKenzie was Australia’s first female electrical engineer.

A lifelong promoter of women’s technical education, she founded the Women’s Emergency Signalling Corps on the eve of World War Two. 

The Corps proved vital for the Navy once war began, with its all-female instructors providing training to 12,000 Allied servicemen in Morse code and signalling, then emerging as critical skills in short supply.

From this she led a successful charge for women to be admitted into the Navy as full serving members.

Australia’s first intake of 14 female naval recruits in 1941 all came from the Women’s Emergency Signalling Corps.

Fittingly, they all worked here at HMAS Harman, a Navy transmission and receiving station at the time.

Florence McKenzie understood the critical nature of training our people in the right technical capabilities against a challenging strategic background. She laid the foundations for many of the technologies relied upon in modern space and cyber operations.

And she broke through traditional barriers to help turn the ADF into a modern fighting force, ready for the future.

I can’t think of better inspiration for the personnel who will be receiving their training here.