Autumn 2023 Australian SKA office update

I will take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am Shanan Gillies, the new General Manager of the Astronomy Branch in the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. I am also new to the SKA Project and am excited to join at this early stage in the SKA-Low Telescope construction journey.

I know it has been a busy start to the year for the Australian SKA Office, following a very eventful end to 2022. As the team said goodbye to 2022, they reflected on the enormity of what we can achieve when we work together, both with our partners and communities in Australia, and as a member country of the global SKA Observatory.

We were fortunate to have some of our staff travel to Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, at the end of last year. There they supported and acknowledged all the progress and hard work that led to the signing of the Indigenous Land Use Agreement, followed by the beginning of construction of the SKA-Low Telescope.

The opportunity to share these milestones with the Wajarri Yamaji community, the SKAO, CSIRO, ICRAR, the Western Australian Government and, of course, Minister Husic, was an outstanding highlight in a year of great progress. We now look forward to playing our part in the construction journey as well!

With the launch of construction events, it is fair to say that we reached a huge Australian and international audience who may never have heard of the SKA Project before. The media coverage of the event in Australia reached billions globally and drove an increased thirst for knowledge, with people flocking to SKA content online to learn more.

This year we are looking to continue the trend. On the other side of the country, we have been working with our partner agencies including the CSIRO to assist the Museum of Australian Democracy and the National Museum of Australia with exhibits that will introduce the Australian SKA Telescope to whole new audiences.

Australia’s voting member of the SKAO Council, Janean Richards, together with former SKA Director, David Luchetti, delivered a presentation recently at a webinar with the Canadian Astronomical Society on the topic of Building Partnerships with Indigenous and Local Communities Near SKA-Low. The discussion covered the ongoing process of respectful engagement with the Wajarri Yamaji community, and work to continue to build and sustain this engagement across the 50-year life of the project.

This topic was particularly timely given the January announcement by Honourable François‑Philippe Champagne, Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry; that Canada intends to proceed to full membership in the SKAO in coming months. Canada has had a long history of involvement with the global SKA Project and we look forward to welcoming and working with them as a full member to the SKAO.

Shanan Gillies, General Manager, Astronomy Branch, Department of Industry, Science and Resources