It’s not long since billionaires were competing to get to the “edge of space”. Now, the first set of private citizens are getting ready to take a SpaceX shuttle up to the International Space Station (ISS). Unlike the short “joyrides” of Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, this mission will be reaching the roughly 400km altitude… Read more »
The federal government is investing $2.2 billion for university research commercialisation which would place “university innovation and industry collaboration front and centre of Australia’s economic recovery.” Part of this funding includes $1.6 billion over ten years for Australia’s Economic Accelerator – a new competitive funding program to help university projects bridge the so-called “valley of… Read more »
Quantum technology, which makes use of the surprising and often counterintuitive properties of the subatomic universe, is revolutionising the way information is gathered, stored, shared and analysed. The commercial and scientific potential of the quantum revolution is vast, but it is in national security that quantum technology is making the biggest waves. National governments are… Read more »
It’s a paradox. The Morrison government, in deep trouble, has produced a budget that’s shamelessly designed to try to buy votes. But Labor, censorious in its rhetoric, has found itself having to embrace the budget’s central measures. Anthony Albanese neatly summed up the situation in his Thursday night budget reply. “This government might as well… Read more »
In the 2022 federal budget, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg launched a range of vote-winning initiatives – one of which included a breathtaking A$9.9 billion for cyber security over ten years. Bundled under the acronym REDSPICE (which stands for resilience, effects, defence, space, intelligence, cyber and enablers), the program is expected to help build Australia’s intelligence and… Read more »
With rising inflation, a war in Europe affecting global fuel costs, and ongoing supply strain issues, this year’s budget is shaped not just by the upcoming election but a growing cry in the community about the cost of living. But despite some significant multi-billion dollar spends within the next six months, the deficit is predicted… Read more »
When Josh Frydenberg says his key cost-of-living budget measures are “temporary” and “targeted”, he’s precisely right, though the reasons are more opportunistic than he’d spruik publicly. He says it’s all about giving help when it’s needed while not baking in long-term spending. But actually, and equally, the measures are aimed squarely at the imminent election,… Read more »
Petrol prices are hitting eye-watering highs. As global affairs put pressure on the availability of commodities, we’re likely to continue seeing volatile petrol prices in the future. So there’s never been a better time to embrace alternative modes of transport such as e-bikes and e-scooters (also called “micromobility” devices). In Australia’s major cities, the average… Read more »
There’s no doubt that online dating and dating apps have transformed the way we initiate, form and end romantic relationships. We might also question whether the convenience of these apps has encouraged us to behave differently than we would in “real life”. More specifically, do mobile dating apps breed bad or antisocial behaviour? If you… Read more »
In the past few years, Australia has formed its own space agency and launched a defence “space command”. Billions of dollars for defence, and hundreds of millions for civilian space, have been allocated from the public purse to develop capability in this growing sector. This funding covers the Moon-to-Mars Program, the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre,… Read more »
You probably clean your shoes if you step in something muddy or disgusting (please pick up after your dog!). But when you get home, do you always de-shoe at the door? Plenty of Australians don’t. For many, what you drag in on the bottom of your shoes is the last thing on the mind as… Read more »
The Reserve Bank of Australia was roiled on Thursday by the resignation of its Deputy Governor Guy Debelle, who is leaving with only six days’ notice. Dr Debelle said that he was resigning to become chief financial officer of Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries, a company investing in zero-emission technologies such as green hydrogen. The… Read more »
Big data analysis has long supported major feats in physics and astronomy. But more recently we’ve seen it underpin breakthroughs in the social sciences and humanities. Since the landmark paper Computational Social Science was published in 2009, a new generation of data analytics tools has given researchers insight into fundamental questions about how we communicate,… Read more »
The world’s five leading tech companies – Google (now Alphabet), Apple, Facebook (now Meta), Amazon and Microsoft – have taken steps to impose significant and (mainly) voluntary sanctions on Russia, in response to its invasion of Ukraine. But the decisions didn’t come unprompted. Ukraine has lobbied the major tech companies in the same way it… Read more »
Tasmanians suffered a six-hour digital blackout on Monday, with phone and internet services down across the state. Some radio and television broadcasts were also affected, as well as banking and electronic payment services. The impact was so severe that Tasmania’s connectivity to the rest of the world was reportedly reduced by 70%, before services slowly… Read more »
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