Australia

Group on Earth Observations – GEO Week 2023

Statement of Australia

Colleagues,

On behalf of the Australian Earth observation community, it is a pleasure to provide our national update for the 2023 GEO Ministerial and GEO Week this year in Cape Town, South Africa. As a member of this global community, Australia would like to highlight some of our national activities that align with GEO’s vision. 

Australia is pleased to endorse GEO’s Post-2025 Strategy, supporting the acceleration of action on Earth’s challenges. The GEO Post-2025 Strategy will provide a vision for global partners to urgently step up the pace of action to tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Earth observation information is vital for monitoring and evaluating progress as we take steps towards building a more sustainable planet. 

The Australian Government has decided that the National Space Mission for Earth Observation (NSMEO) program will not continue into its Implementation Phase but will instead conclude on 30 June 2023. The decision was made in the context of a challenging economic and fiscal environment. Government has reassessed its industry policies to ensure they are coherent and balanced across the industry portfolio. This realignment work seeks to bring balance to the levels of space industry investment previously made. 

As Australia’s lead organisation for land remote sensing we understand how important assured access to trusted imagery of lands and coasts is for ensuring the safety, cohesion, and prosperity of our nations. We would like to reassure GEO members that we will be continuing our efforts to assure access to that data through ongoing engagement and partnership with international satellite operators. Over the next few months, we will be engaging with the Australian Earth observation and spatial communities to ensure we have an up-to-date understanding of our nation’s data needs and priorities, and this will inform our proactive international outreach efforts.  

We would like to highlight the support Australia has provided to our international Earth observation community through the adoption and uptake of open-source Open Data Cube, underpinned by Analysis Ready Data, the GEO Land Degradation Neutrality, GEO AquaWatch, and Early Warnings for All, a ground breaking effort to ensure that everyone on Earth is protected from hazardous weather, water, or climate events through life-saving early warning Systems by the end of 2027. These programmes are crucial to achieving global impacts on action to climate change.  

Careful consideration of the emerging needs of the global EO community is essential to take full advantage of new technologies such as the Digital Earth platforms, and analytics opportunities provided by the emergence of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning methods. Australia is proud to support its engagement to help guide GEO as it makes these decisions that will impact its relevance in this next phase of global EO activity. 

Australia will also continue efforts to promote and nurture connections with the international community through participation on the Pacific Islands Advisory Group. Through the successful delivery of the Oceania Geospatial Symposium held in November 2022, New Caledonia, and the continued dialogue established between CEOS and the region, these collaborative efforts provide new opportunities for joint initiatives to increase the beneficiaries of Earth observations and strengthen global partnerships.  

GEO has a unique ability to harness the power of Earth observation for all. Now, more than ever, opportunities to connect policy makers, space agencies and data providers, and researchers from across the globe are critical in building a more resilient future. Australia is pleased to continue its membership on GEO and be part of the global effort to tackle global challenges.  

Maree Wilson

Principal Representative to the Group on Earth Observations

Australian Government