National Science Week launch

Acknowledgements omitted

Our great national challenge is to make our economy more complex.

At the heart of that is infusing our economy with science and technology, and we can't do any of that unless we encourage people to pursue science – and particularly kids.

Wonder, inquiry, seeking answers to questions is as natural a part of the human condition as breathing.

And this year’s Science Week, which will give you the opportunity to meet Meganne Christian, who's a fair chance to be Australia's first female astronaut, or Nicole Yamase who's been at the other end of the deepest part of the planet in the Mariana Trench, there’s the opportunity to meet them in Sydney this weekend.

In Perth, you can learn about how physics and chemistry can point us in the direction of aliens.

In my hometown of Geelong two suburbs over from where I live, in Newtown, there's going to be an archaeological dig on Saturday.

All of this is exactly what we need to be doing to encourage Australians to engage in science.

And I've long said that we need to change our cultural relationship to science, but actually the research that Misha referred to earlier says that that is starting to happen, albeit that there's a way to go.

And that is in no small part due to the work of Science and Technology Australia and National Science Week.

ENDS