Ms Katherine Bennell-Pegg, 2026 Australian of the Year
Speech at the Trans-Tasman Dinner
Australian High Commission to New Zealand
24 June 2026
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e rau rangatira mā
Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.
As an Australian, I would like to follow our practice and acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet today, recognise their legacy and the role they play in caring for the land and waters of this region.
I also pay my respects to their Elders and extend this to any indigenous leaders in the room.
It’s a real pleasure to be here amongst friends from both sides of the Tasman.
HOME AND THE OVERVIEW EFFECT
My home is West Beach. When I visit family in Sydney I say I’m from Adelaide. When I go overseas for training, I’m from Australia. And when astronauts go into space, they feel they are from one Earth.
From the space station, you can see anything larger than about 120m across. So you search for the familiar.
You can see the Australian High Commission.
You can see the stadiums that host the Bledisloe Cup – but thankfully, not the scoreboard.
You can’t see borders from up there. Just a fragile, shared world. And a powerful truth: we are all in this together.
Space is not about escaping the Earth, but seeing it more clearly.
ARTEMIS II
The cognitive shift astronauts experience is called the overview effect. What excites me is seeing a similar shift here on the ground, with the recent Artemis II mission — the first return of people around the Moon in over half a century.
Fifty four per cent of Australian adults watched the Artemis II launch – compared to twenty two percent that watched the AFL grand final.
It inspired us to look up and out, when there are so many excuses which give us the perfect excuse to look down and in. It reminded us of the power of ambition in grand, meaningful pursuits. The importance of preparing for the future while in parallel tackling the present.
Unlike during Apollo, when Aussie and Kiwi kids watched on in awe of the achievements of others, I hope during the Artemis era they watch on in awe of our own achievements. And of what their future could hold.
A PERSONAL JOURNEY
Like many, I remember looking up at the night sky and being fascinated by the stars as a kid. First for the adventure, then for the science.
At the time, there wasn’t a clear path to becoming an Australian astronaut. There wasn’t a handbook. Certainly, no checklist. If there had been, it would have consisted of two simple steps:
Step 1: Leave Australia.
Step 2: Good luck.
So, I left. And wherever I went, I met Aussies and Kiwis doing extraordinary things in the space sectors of other countries. Engineers. Scientists. Operators. Entrepreneurs.
People helping build capability – elsewhere.
And whenever we got together, the same topic came up: “ … wouldn’t it be great if one day we could do this back home?”
Now, thanks to the efforts of many – increasingly we can. I even know a couple of Kiwis that just moved back here, quitting SpaceX right before the IPO…
A SHARED SPACE HERITAGE – EXPLORERS
When I think about Australia and New Zealand, I’m struck by how similar our stories are. Exploration is our heritage.
Long before astronauts, there were navigators.
Long before rockets, ocean voyages.
The world’s oldest continuous astronomical knowledge is found right here among our first nations people across Australia. And Māori communities in New Zealand.
Looking up to guide our lives has always been part of who we are in this region.
WHY SPACE?
But we are also nations of practical dreamers. Looking up has never meant losing touch with the ground, but finding our way forward.
We do hard things not for ego, but because they are worthwhile. Space, too, is one of those things … but many don’t realise it.
People often ask why we should focus on space when we face so many challenges here on Earth: cost of living pressures, climate catastrophes, industries that need saving, national security to safeguard.
The answer is simple: space underpins how we address every one of those.
It’s not a standalone niche, but foundational to our national capability. Most think of space as rockets and astronauts – but we are just the visible tip of the iceberg.
Space is an invisible utility – the unseen infrastructure we rely on every day without noticing.
The space race is what set the technological foundation for space to expand into serving huge markets on Earth. And that expansion isn’t slowing. The global space economy is set to triple over the next decade.
Today’s exploration programs – like the international space station and Artemis – continue to fuel advances, as the engine room of space innovation.
But why is space so pervasive?
Well, it’s because space, ultimately, is just a place – like the ocean – and the range of activities we can do there have breadth.
Space is a place that is the ultimate high ground. From high in the sky we can see phenomenon across our vast land and seas.
We guide emergency services during natural disasters, predicting and monitoring landslides, volcanic activity, bushfires and floods.
In fact, ninety nine per cent of climate data comes from satellites in space.
Technology is so good, we can now almost count individual sheep. … I am being cheeky but three space projects co-funded between Australia’s SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre and the New Zealand Space Agency in 2024 all had Earth focused outcomes … maritime, farming and communications.
What you can see from space you can connect from space, just like a super high mobile phone tower.
That’s how the flying doctor services delivers telehealth.
And soon, smartphones will connect directly to satellites – expanding emergency coverage into the remotest areas.
So for the Kiwis among us… soon, there will be no escape from ‘WINZ’.
What you can connect from space you can inform from space.
Every time you tap your card to buy the famous ‘Australian’ flat white, satellites synchronise the timing behind that transaction.
Ports, mines and logistics chains rely on satellite connections to operate.
The flagship bilateral space program between Australia and New Zealand – the SouthPAN network – is set to revolutionise location accuracy … improving it from 5-10 metres down to as little as 10 centimetres - without the need for mobile or internet coverage.
It’s estimated this singular program will add $7.6 billion in economic value over the next thirty years.
By increasing productivity, space advances our economic complexity. Space reduces our cost of living.
In the UK, eighteen per cent of its GDP is dependent on space. Given our geography, I think the Australian economy, and the New Zealand economy, rely on space more than most.
As most don’t realise this reliance, this creates a vulnerability.
In April 2023, Australian and New Zealand farmers were unable to use their satellite-guided farming equipment for days – due to a signal failure in a single satellite.
The head of the NSW Farmers Grains Committee said: “You couldn’t have picked a worse time for it… all these challenges have been thrown at us, but this is just one we never thought would come up.”
At the Australian Space Agency, we coordinate across the twenty seven government agencies that are involved in using space to deliver essential services for all Australians.
To assure such essential services from space there is now a market for in-space services: space tracking, space debris monitoring, launch and return.
Each of these aligned with our competitive advantages.
It’s also why as nations we’re both so committed to the global norms and rules that underpin exploration.
Space is a place for discovery – humans in space go up there not for prestige – but purpose.
Us astronauts are trained to be scientists in the sky in service of our nation and its partners – just a visible part of a much bigger team on the ground.
A team that includes every sector and every occupation.
We are trained to go up there to make discoveries we can’t make down here, that span many fields, like:
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Creating drought tolerant crops;
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Manufacturing ultra-pure optical fibres;
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Creating new medicines; and
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Conducting experiments that reach into the heart of every classroom.
As such a visible activity, human spaceflight is a powerful tool for diplomacy.
It’s one of the most symbolic, positive things nations can do together, dollar for dollar.
Space is, after all, a place that is inherently international – orbits don’t recognise borders. Satellites pass over nations in minutes.
So nations, like Australia and New Zealand do, share data, partner up on missions, and trust is built through collaboration. Government-to-government agreements are critical for market access.
Space is a place – to do business.
The global space sector is growing at nine per cent per year, much faster than the broader economy.
Just last week, SpaceX had the world’s largest ever IPO. With the Total Addressable Market at ten times Australia’s GDP.
If that’s not evidence for the utility of space, I’m not sure what is!
We have the chance to access this growth, if we’re able to deliver operational capability into the markets.
As local space capability grows, we will have the opportunity to shape and contribute to the systems we depend on, and so strengthen our economic security.
A question both of our countries now face: is to what level of national sovereignty – or not – do we have comfort with, when it comes to the delivery of space services we rely on.
We don’t need to do it all ourselves, but the more a nation contributes to the global space ecosystem, the more it can secure its access to the critical data it relies on from other parts of the space economy…
AUSTRALIAN – NEW ZEALAND SPACE ADVANTAGES
I mentioned earlier that space is just a place. Well Australia and New Zealand are the place FOR space.
We share the advantages of:
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Clear and well characterised skies, with a unique view that allows us to track space objects and communicate with them;
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We have stable economies and political systems;
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A highly-skilled workforce; and
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Industries ripe for spinning into space, thanks to having to live and learn on our vast and remote lands.
Our space sectors are poised to scale, right as the global space sector is shifting geopolitically, programmatically, and industrially. That alignment is rare, and powerful.
From Rocket Lab and Dawn Aerospace here in New Zealand to Gilmour, Myriota, Fugro and Fleet in Australia … we are no longer passengers but helping shape the future of the global space sector.
TALL POPPIES AND SPORTS
Being far from much of the world has taught our countries an important skill: resourcefulness. When something breaks, we fix it. When something doesn’t exist, we build it. When there’s no obvious path forward, we create one.
We value humility, which is a strength. But objectively, our record is remarkable.
We are doing it through our uniquely Trans-Tasman blend of grit, practical engineering, and a healthy scepticism for the word ‘impossible’.
What I hear New Zealanders call ‘number 8 wire’.
These qualities matter enormously in space. And they matter enormously in the world we’re living in today. Because the future will belong to people who can adapt, collaborate, innovate.
But also – a quality that matters will be having the courage to back ourselves, as individuals, and as nations.
What Australian’s call ‘having a crack’.
A wonderful part of both our cultures is how we give it a go in sports, even if we’re the weakest on the field.
For the love of the game, the team, the personal challenge. Because fitness matters. But when it comes to maths and science, if we’re not top of the class or don’t fit the stereotype we shy away – are sometimes even encouraged away.
We need to help people lean into STEM for the love of ideas, to be empowered to help solve problems they care about, or to discover things that excite them.
If I may have another dream beyond being an astronaut, it’s this: that we bring that same ‘give it a go spirit’ from the sports field to the STEM fields.
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Backing each other and ourselves with the trust that we can do hard, important things.
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Imagine what more we would discover, what great problems we would solve, how our horizons would expand.
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Space, as such a visible field, can be a catalyst for doing this more broadly.