“Hi, tell me a bit about what you do?” was a common conversation starter heard in the Great Hall at Parliament House during the 26th Science Meets Parliament.
“Have you met Lucille? You have to ask her about her research into why herrings and shark’s fart.” I will not go into the specifics, other than to say it made for one of the funny, fascinating and memorable conversations across the two days.
More importantly, those conversations with stakeholders, delegates and parliamentarians also gave me and my NATA colleagues the valuable opportunity to share NATA’s story: who we are, what we do, and why it matters. We were able to explain how NATA contributes to confidence in testing, inspection and technical competence, and why that’s important for government, industry and the community.
This year’s event was the biggest yet, bringing together more than 400 STEM professionals and also 40 Parliamentarians participating in more than 100 meetings. Against the backdrop of the newly released Ambitious Australia report, the message was clear: Australia has a major opportunity to better connect research, policy and industry to deliver long-term national benefit.
As Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science Tim Ayres said at his National Press Club address as part of SMP2026, his job is to “to squeeze every ounce out of the system and deliver with impact. This is a mission of enormous consequence for Australia’s strategic capability, economic resilience and national security.”
NATA was also proud to be part of the conversation through the Australian Technical Infrastructure Alliance (ATIA), alongside Standards Australia, the National Measurement Institute and JASANZ. As co-sponsor of the session “How Government Departments Operate”, ATIA helped highlight an important message for the broader STEM community: good policy depends not only on new ideas, but on trusted systems that support evidence, coordination and delivery.
SMP2026 reinforced that trusted evidence does not speak for itself. It needs strong relationships, clear communication and institutions that help translate expertise into action. That is exactly where NATA, through ATIA and in our own work, continues to make a practical contribution.