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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-08-30 Daily Xml
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National Science Week

Mrs PEARCE (King) (11:59): I move:

That this house—

(a) acknowledges that the 2023 National Science Week occurred from 12 to 20 August 2023;

(b) notes the importance of science and technology to South Australia's emerging high-tech economy and in creating a secure and highly skilled workforce; and

(c) notes that the Malinauskas Labor government has taken steps to encourage young people, particularly women and girls, to enter STEM study pathways and careers.

I speak in support of this motion for National Science Week, a week across Australia when we not only acknowledge the amazing work of our scientists across all fields of research but also spark an interest in science for the up-and-coming future scientists, igniting a fascination in the world around them, encouraging them to learn more about it and seek a career in STEM.

This year's theme for National Science Week was Innovation: Powering Future Industries, with a focus on artificial intelligence and the advancement of technology. Starting on 12 August and going through to 20 August, there was ample opportunity across the state, with more than a dozen activities taking place, including Science Alive!, the Innovation Lab at the City Library on Rundle Street, and the Mount Gambier Science Fair, to provide everyone a chance to get out and learn, as well as myriad events taking place in our communities.

I was proud to see National Science Week start this year with the opening of the next round of grants from our state's $2 million Citizen Science Fund. Thus far, projects that have been successful in being awarded a Citizen Science Fund small grant include the likes of UniSA for work into mosquito populations in South Australia in partnership with schools; Flinders University, studying our little penguin numbers on Granite Island; yabbies as indicators of health of a groundwater dependent ecosystem in Brownhill Creek; getting school-age children involved in researching flora, fauna and fungi in Belair National Park; and studying dolphin movements, behaviours and preferred habitats that will inform conservation strategies.

For a long time, science has been thought of in the minds of many people as something that takes place in sterile environments and away from the public eye, accessible only to professional scientists. However, with the help of funds such as this, we can utilise the immense power that citizen science has to contribute to scientific knowledge and equip everyday South Australians with the resources they need to get out there in our local communities.

Additionally, with the Citizen Science Fund supporting the global online science platform, SciStarter, with a $160,000 grant, this will enable more people in the community who have an interest in science and research and want to help add to scientific research to have a place they can go to seek out opportunities and join citizen science projects of interest to them.

We are proud of our history of scientific achievements in South Australia, but we are just as excited about what the future holds for us, and that is why we are committed to investing in our industry to accelerate new ideas. Whether it be through investment into our innovation districts, our National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, cooperative research centres or our Future Making Fellowship Scheme, to name just a few, we are serious about providing a space for science and research to grow in South Australia because we know that backing South Australians produces some amazing results that benefit not just us but the entire world.

As part of our commitment to boosting our state's skilled workforce to meet the projected needs of future industry in South Australia, it is through events like this that open the possibilities of a STEM career to young people who can then be inspired to see a future for them. It is a future into which kids today can start to take their initial steps through our investment of $208.8 million into five new technical colleges across South Australia. The first of these technical colleges will open in Findon next year, offering students through year 10 to year 12 an opportunity to get hands-on experience that will also benefit employers with the skilled workforce they will need to take on the big opportunities being presented to our state over the next few decades.

This project will help us to put students on a path that interests them, keeping them engaged and directing them into employment in a field where they can see a future for themselves, all the while maintaining a connection to school so they can get their SACE and ensure they remain in the best position to take on the changing world of employment they will be entering. This includes projects that will require some of the most skilled workers that this state has needed, who will eventually work on the world-class AUKUS submarines in Adelaide, a project that will significantly transform and expand our economic potential compared with any major projects that we have seen throughout our state's history.

It also includes gearing up for our green economy, building up our renewable capacity and investing in world-leading investment and hydrogen, building upon our industrial capability and allowing South Australia to capitalise on the strengths of the manufacture of green iron and green-processed critical minerals, which will be underpinned by our world-class carbon accounting and greater circularity of resources.

It is important to note that the many opportunities that are out there today will not mean much if kids are not shown these possibilities and, importantly, are able to see themselves in the jobs for the future. Currently, women comprise around 36 per cent of STEM-qualified industries, which is a stark under-representation when compared with the broader workforce, which has nearly 50 per cent female participation rates. A further look into the current situation also reveals that around 90 per cent of women who hold STEM qualifications work in non-STEM-related fields.

Of course, STEM degrees are incredibly useful in the workplace, even if that workplace does not operate in STEM. They promote critical thinking to problem solve, they foster innovation and creative thinking, they enhance one's digital literacy and provide a great opportunity for developing analytical skills, all great assets that employers are currently on the hunt for. If we have so many women completing STEM-related education but then not following through and getting into the field, we are doing ourselves an enormous disservice.

We recently witnessed the captivating spirit of the Matildas with their remarkable efforts in the FIFA Women's World Cup. Their performance brought the nation together and highlighted the incredible talent of our national women's soccer team. Their impact was not just limited to the moment. It is likely that across the country numerous young girls were glued to the television, watching the Matildas play, just like the rest of the nation.

While watching, these girls might have imagined themselves on that field as the next Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler or Mackenzie Arnold, and felt inspired to pursue a career in soccer themselves because they witnessed a nation behind a team that they could see themselves in. I am a big believer in that you cannot be what you cannot see and, when it comes to getting more women in STEM, if we have the opportunity to give a platform to women in STEM so that young girls and women can see there is a future for them, we need to do it.

I have had the pleasure over the last couple of years to attend Science Alive, which provides an opportunity for thousands of students to get out on an excursion or visit with their parents over the weekend to see the many ways you can apply for a STEM education. There is a ton for you to see and do there—for example, the Adelaide Crows showcase STEM, inviting kids to make their own pedometer and how statistics play a role in sport. There is the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology, which highlights how STEM plays a role in our food, from engineering through to nutrition.

Organisations like Fleet Space Technologies, the Andy Thomas Space Foundation and the Australian Space Discovery Centre are showing off technology and potential for the innovation in our space industry and, importantly, showing kids that they, too, can reach for the stars when it comes to their dream career. The Department for Defence, Defence SA, Lockheed Martin and even the Australian Army's drone racing team were there, highlighting the current and future demand for highly skilled STEM workers, who are needed in our defence industry.

It is important to showcase these possibilities to parents as well as kids, and that is something I have loved about Science Alive. The world that we know in this place growing up is one that has changed so rapidly throughout our lives and, just as there are jobs now that did not exist five, 10, 15 or 20 years ago, I am certain this will be even more the case in 10 to 15 years' time as we are propelled into an ever-changing world with dynamic challenges and opportunities.

Part of the challenge of getting kids to pursue STEM as a career is also educating the parents; it is just as critical to spark that interest in the kids themselves. Through the Malinauskas Labor government's $2 million teaching scholarships, we hope to have more woman teaching STEM and showcasing that it is a field that women can also excel in, inspiring the next generation of women to get involved. With over 400 scholarships worth $5,000 to be awarded, we are set on strengthening the quality of our teachers by supporting the brighter students enrolled in teaching degrees here in South Australia.

As a government, we are very set on boosting the number of women in STEM because we appreciate the benefits it represents. It puts us on a path towards having greater gender equality, it will mean more role models for young people to aspire to and it helps address the demand for skilled workers. We are being proactive in this space because we know there are opportunities before us that we cannot afford to miss. With that, I encourage everybody to take another look at STEM.

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (12:09): I move to amend the motion as follows:

Delete all words in paragraph (c) and insert the following words in lieu thereof:

(c) acknowledges past and present state government initiatives in South Australia that have encouraged young people and particularly women and girls to enter STEM study pathways and careers.

I hope that this is a very bipartisan amendment, which recognises both sides of this house. I do understand the importance of science, technology, engineering and maths as being vital to South Australia's interests, and certainly I understand how important it is having graduated from Adelaide University with two degrees: one degree in science specialising in physics and the other an electrical and electronic engineering degree. Both these degrees rely heavily on maths and then result in very rewarding careers in the high-tech fields, such as defence, telecommunications and also the internet.

Certainly, South Australians working in these STEM fields contribute greatly to our modern way of life, and in my previous role as Minister for Trade and Investment it was really great to have the opportunity to go and see both university research and organisations that are undertaking work in these STEM fields. Quite often they were very world leading as to where they were going, which is a fantastic pat on the back for South Australia, having these great companies and research institutions right here in our own backyard.

Any attention we can shine here on careers in STEM is a good thing, and certainly one of those initiatives that can bring these careers into focus is, of course, National Science Week, which has been running since 1997. It is organised by the federal Department of Industry, Science, and Resources. It is Australia-wide but also concentrates on some great events here in South Australia.

This year's theme was Innovation: Powering Future Industries, which encourages students to look into some of the exciting fields and advancements going forward in areas such as artificial intelligence and renewable energy and sustainability, and of course another important element is to try to engage them to be future leaders in science.

In South Australia, we have terrific advantages, and one of them is Lot Fourteen, which is a precinct so close to the CBD. The former Liberal government recognised the opportunity to create Lot Fourteen as a hub of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship that will be able to create thousands of jobs and become an engine room of growth for the South Australian economy. The changes that have occurred at Lot Fourteen in the last four years have been rapid, which speaks to how much progress is being made in the field of science, and really has transformed a lot of what is going on. I got to see it firsthand in my previous role as Minister for Trade and Investment.

I was on hand to see the announcement by former Prime Minister the Hon. Scott Morrison alongside the member for Dunstan, our former Premier, that the National Space Agency was going to be based right here in South Australia at Lot Fourteen. That announcement excited so many in South Australia because securing the Australian Space Agency in South Australia, the headquarters of space, has really positioned South Australia very well. Sitting alongside the space agency is Mission Control.

I also think something very important in terms of encouraging young students to look into STEM is the Space Discovery Centre. It really showcases and highlights what the opportunities are in space in a very practical way—and there are many school tours that go through and it is really good; I have been on hand to see students go through—and it really emphasises those to them. I see their excitement in what space could be. It certainly inspires a lot of young ones, and then from that it can encourage them to get involved in STEM as well.

Lot Fourteen also has some other important key pillars alongside the Australian Space Agency. It has the Australian Institute for Machine Learning, which is one of the world-leading institutions for artificial intelligence and machine learning, spawned out of the electrical and electronic engineering department at the University of Adelaide, where I graduated from.

We also have the MIT Living Lab. MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a world-leading technology institute. To have them here brings global attention again to South Australia. The only other living labs established by MIT are in New York, Beijing and Istanbul, so it really puts Adelaide right up alongside them.

Another important pillar in Lot Fourteen is the Cyber Collaboration Centre. Of course, all the data being produced in the high-tech and space world needs to be kept secure. Having the Cyber Collaboration Centre there will rely on STEM careers. It is a very new sector insofar as making sure that the data is kept secure. Because the field is developing so much, it gives a great opportunity to students to get involved quite quickly. If you do a four-year university degree in the traditional way, by the time you get to the end things have changed so rapidly. So this provides the opportunity for some real hands-on learning on the job, which young ones love to get involved with so they can be highly engaged. The Cyber Collaboration Centre will be really important in terms of jobs of the future for young STEM students.

These pillars, amongst others, have attracted some globally significant companies to set up in Lot Fourteen. Lot Fourteen has over 1,500 people working there now and over 150 businesses, which is massive and, as I said, an engine room for growth in our economy in technology. It is attracting massive companies: Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and the MITRE Corporation.

These are global companies, and that gives the opportunity for South Australians to have a really rewarding career in STEM based in South Australia. No longer do they have to go either interstate or overseas. They can have a really rewarding job that actually makes a real difference to their community, but also to the world, based right here in South Australia. That is certainly a great incentive to get involved in those jobs.

Another major incentive for a job that will last for a whole career is in defence. SA is already the defence state, but I think the announcement of AUKUS will turbocharge that and put even more attention on South Australia. It is a big trilateral security agreement between the massive global economies of the US and the UK. The first pillar, which everyone knows about, is the building of nuclear-powered submarines at Osborne, which is a massive undertaking just in the sheer scale of the dollars involved—up to $360 billion. You can see the scale of that is economy changing.

Also not spoken about as much is the second pillar of that agreement, and that is around the sharing of high technology between these three strategic allies in areas such as quantum, cyber and AI. I have spent a fair bit of my contribution today talking about Lot Fourteen and its centre in those technologies, and that puts South Australia at the forefront of those technologies. Of course, there is going to be a massive requirement for a skilled STEM workforce, and that requires both male and female participation.

As has been stated before, there is a trend of more males than females participating in STEM careers. If we are going to meet our workforce demands in AUKUS, it is going to require basically a population-wide skilling up. We really want to encourage young women who are thinking about STEM to be equally as engaged in these careers as young men. Certainly, the former Liberal government recognised that. When in power, it set up a Women's Economic Security and Leadership Strategy in August 2021. It targeted crucial areas of employment, entrepreneurship, leadership and recognition. That still will encourage and help encourage women into the workforce in these STEM areas as it looks to promote those fields.

In closing, I certainly encourage all young people looking to make a meaningful difference to undertake a career in STEM, and there is no better place to do that than in South Australia.

Mrs PEARCE (King) (12:19): I rise to thank the member for his comments and to acknowledge that we will be supporting the amendment that has been presented. This is a very important issue. It is something we should all be focused on, especially as we head forwards and move into a really interesting point in time.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.

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