Speech Notes for John Strano – 22nd April 2009
SIMULATION ACTIVITY IN QUEENSLAND
This morning, as part of my presentation I want to briefly outline the extent of existing simulation related activity in Queensland, the role that Invest Queensland has played and also mention how this work aligns with the priority sectors for the Queensland Government.
Firstly - Queensland is home to a number of simulation related operations including:
§ Boeing operate a sophisticated Systems Analysis Laboratory for Defence mission simulation. The Boeing head office is also home for their Phantom Works Research Centre which established here in 2008;
§ The Tiger Helicopter Full Flight Mission Simulator facility at Oakey provides world-class training simulation for Defence;
§ Alteon Training Australia provides aviation training solutions that include aircrew simulator training, flight, technical and cabin crew training;
§ BAE Systems operate a range of small arms training simulators in Brisbane, Amberley and Townsville;
§ Thales operate the F-111 flight simulator for the RAAF at Amberley Airbase (and there is a significant capital works program currently underway at the airbase); and
§ Aviation Australia, the Queensland Government’s Aviation Training Centre, has introduced Airbus proprietary simulation systems for the training of aircraft maintenance engineers;
Our Department and Invest Queensland has worked closely with all of the above organisations / clients from an investment attraction and industry development perspective. We will continue to aggressively attract high value investment to Queensland and our ongoing partnership with existing clients and organisations like SIAA is a key part of how we operate.
I am also pleased that Allan is here today as I am keen to see how Queensland can secure some of CAE’s C$714 million investment in Project Falcon, a research and development program that will span five years and focus modelling and simulation technologies.
Also, as a result of the above successes and Queensland’s growing aviation market-share we have also seen indirect benefits such as the move to Queensland by The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) from Canberra in 2007 because of the need to be located close to the centre of aviation activity.
Queensland is also now seen as a global hub for mining and related services and this has lead to a number of client enquiries about the potential for further simulation related investments.
There are a number of other specialist simulation training related companies operating in Queensland like 5DT (Fifth Dimension Technologies) which develop and produce virtual reality training simulators and peripherals but I this capability will be covered in the case studies.
Secondly – as part of the Smart State policy framework (and more recently Q2) our Department and the Queensland Government has also contributed to the growth of the simulation industry through strategic initiatives such as:
§ Construction of significant research and ICT infrastructure such as the Queensland Cyber Infrastructure Foundation, the Queensland Facility for Advanced Bioinformatics, the Australian e-Health Research Centre, the Australian Society for Simulation in Healthcare and the National Information and Communication Technology Australia - Queensland. State and Commonwealth Government investments in this infrastructure has totalled over $35 million, and this investment is positioning Queensland as a major centre for enabling technologies.
§ Support for The Mining Industry Skills Centre / Construction Training Centre and its National Centre for Simulation in Construction;
§ Support for the establishment of the Queensland Simulation Alliance and the Mackay based Australian Simulation Research Office - a simulation research and development centre in partnership with Central Queensland University;
§ Sponsorship of key conferences and events (ie. SimTect, Games Connect, UAV Challenge and Mining 2008, etc);
§ Support for the Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies and the Autonomous Mine Systems Laboratory in Brisbane; and
§ The Queensland Health Simulation & Training Centre – Brisbane.
We look forward to continuing the strong partnership with SIAA and increasing the simulation activity in Queensland.
Thank you.