Judith Collins: Space Minister on the new space infrastructure bill passing under urgency

A new law on space infrastructure is being described as immediately enhancing national security.

The bill's passed under urgency today, and requires a Government permit for anyone wanting to operate ground-based space infrastructure, like a launch pad.

Permission can be removed if the security risk can't be managed.

Space Minister Judith Collins says there are risks from so much banking and communication being done through satellites.

"That sort of information could be pulled off those satellites - or copied."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Parliament has rushed a new law under urgency to protect
our space programs from foreign interference. It turns out that
on a number of occasions in the last five years,
foreign actors have tried to build space infrastructure on the
ground here in New Zealand, but have not been honest
about their links to foreign militaries. Space Minister Judith Collins
is with us now our hy Judith, can you tell

(00:20):
us which foreign militaries we're talking about?

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Well, I think it's enough to say it's the usual suspects.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
We so Russia and Chinese.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
I'd just say it's And of course there are other
countries that might well be interested in doing the sort
of thing too, particularly given our location in the world,
the fact that we are known as a space nation
now and we're very keen to be involved in things,
and kiwis we can be a little bit gullible from
time to time because we like to take people, you know,

(00:50):
as we see them. So we we have occasionally had
the security agencies have occasionally in the last five years
had to step in and tell people who they're really
dealing with.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
What are they trying to build?

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Well, it's about these are things that involve things that
are involved in satellite data reception, for instance, space surveillance,
identification of spacecraft telemetry, which is basically the clleckching of
data from satellites and operations and operations of spacecraft. So

(01:26):
it can be if you think about so much of
our communications, our banking, so much what we do now
is done through satellites, that sort of information could be
pulled off those satellites or to be copied and used
for various purposes, and it could also be interfered with.

(01:46):
So these are sorts of things we're talking about.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Are there examples of genuine businesses, like perhaps even New
Zealand businesses who are busy doing it and on selling
the data not realizing who they're on selling it to.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
Well, there might be, but we're I can't say for
certain that's true. What I do know is that, look,
there's a lot of people very interested in space, and
this is not about targeting people who just happened to
have an extraly, extra big telescope in their backyard. This
is about commercial operations. And I think two is that

(02:21):
in the past, our security agencies have been able to
talk to the owners of the land about who's really
involved at the moment. I don't think we can continue
to work on the hope and prey and hope. Everyone
wants to be part of the same team basis.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Okay, listen while I've got you. What happened to the
me Than satellite?

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Well, at number one twenty nineteen, it was sent, it
was signed up to that previous government. We've obviously inherited it.
I think what they say to me is that the
satellite just they lost contact with it. They've got a
lot of information off it before it disappeared, but I

(03:02):
haven't had any reports as to exactly what happened other
than the lost contact and that does happen from time.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Do you expect that they will give you a report though,
because we chucked a very actually do it.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yeah, there's quite a lot of money, and you know,
in twenty nineteen previous government this was a big focus
methane capture and things, and of course nowadays it's mostly
all about security. But look, so I have asked for
a report on it and I will find out and

(03:33):
once we've got it, i'll let you all know.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
Thank you, Judith. I appreciated Judith Collins, Minister Space like
I don't know if you if you picked up what
Judith was putting down, but it was the previous government
and it was a methane satellite, so you know, tough testies.
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