Telstra has revealed the addition of almost one million new mobile services in the six months to December 2011, but Sensis revenues plummeted 24 percent in 12 months.
The Western Australian town of Geraldton, 460 kilometres north of Perth, is set to play a key role in Australian astronomy in support of the bid to host the $2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio-telescope, with the Australian Government’s announcement today that a new research facility is to be built in the town.
Australia’s Innovation Minister, Senator Kim
Carr, said today the $4 million CSIRO Murchison Radio Observatory
Support Facility would directly link Geraldton-based researchers with
the world-class $80 million Pawsey High Performance Computing Centre
for SKA Science to be built in Perth.
The Minister said up to 12 highly skilled personnel will be employed at
the Geraldton facility, which will ensure Geraldton plays a key role in
Australian astronomy.
"Geraldton's unique position means that it can serve as a major link
between the proposed SKA base at Boolardy Station in WA's mid west and
Perth. Not only will the facility support valuable local jobs during
its construction, but it will sustain high-skill, high-wage jobs during
its operation.”
The mayor of Geraldton, Councillor Ian Carpenter, who was with the
Minister for the announcement, said the council gave the facility 100
per cent backing, and that the locating of the facility in Geraldton
was a “win-win” for the town and the mid-west of the state.
"Besides the immediate economic benefits, it will help in leveraging
further funding from other areas of industry and government –
particularly in relation to renewable energy opportunities."
Senator Carr said the announcement comes on top of the support provided
by the National Broadband Network (NBN), “where the Geraldton to Perth
link has been named a national priority. The link contains additional
capacity to accommodate the SKA.”
Senator Carr said that if Australia is successful in hosting the SKA,
it will bring “enormous economic and scientific benefits to Geraldton
and WA more broadly.
"The Rudd Government will continue to do all it can to promote WA as
the world's best core site to host one of the world's great science
projects. The SKA is a large-scale, new-generation radio telescope with
a discovery potential that is 10,000 greater than current instruments.”
The Minister said that a decision on the final site (for the SKA) was expected in 2012.
The Geraldton facility is planned to be completed in 2011 with the
design tender opportunity to be announced shortly by the Federal
Government.
David Bass
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