The selection of Abigail Bradshaw as the new head of Australia’s cyber spy agency, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), sends a strong message. It confirms the government’s increasing intelligence focus on domestic cybersecurity, both to disrupt foreign influence operations and to promote better protection of our national cyber systems. The ASD is so far succeeding… Read more »
The Australian Senate passed the new laws last week, setting in place a new climate-related financial disclosure regime that kicks off at the start of 2025 for Australia’s biggest companies, then trickling down to others in the coming years. While the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024 doesn’t sound like… Read more »
Bunnings CEO Michael Schneider, former Tech Council CEO Kate Pounder and ex-NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet turned BHP advisor are among a new board members of a new political think tank led by Square Peg’s Paul Bassat. Amplify is a non-partisan organisation, independent of political parties, and says it’s seeking to find the “uncommon ground” on… Read more »
Despite being drafted and tabled in the Australian Senate in 2022, the Action Initiation Bill was only passed last week. Action initiation would transform the Consumer Data Right (CDR) from merely a data-sharing framework into a dynamic system that empowers consumers to take action based on the insights they gain. The CDR was created to… Read more »
The wildly ambitious SunCable renewable energy project, which plans to build Australia biggest solar farm in the Northern Territory, has been approved by the federal government. Officially known as the SunCable Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink), the 12,000 hectare solar farm – that’s 3000x the MCG precinct – will be built on a pastoral station between Elliot… Read more »
Google has claimed it does not dominate search engine services in Australia after a judge earlier this month found the tech giant operated an illegal search monopoly in the United States. Representatives from Google responded to questions from Australian senators during a meeting of the Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence on Friday, which also… Read more »
This week’s passing of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Consumer Data Right) Bill 2022 by the Australian Parliament has reignited discussions about its potential to drive positive change. While concerns about complexity, data quality, low consumer uptake, and high implementation costs persist, the government’s commitment to extending and simplifying the CDR by focusing on high-value use… Read more »
The Victorian capital’s 30-month trial of renting e-scooters on the city streets will end after the council killed off their use in a majority vote. City of Melbourne councillors voted 6-4 to end the contracts with Lime and Neuron, having trialed their use since February 2022. Lord mayor Nicholas Reece led the charge against them,… Read more »
On Tuesday, Australia’s minister for government services, Bill Shorten, announced the federal government is developing a new digital identity and credential system. Known as the Trust Exchange (TEx), Shorten said the new system will be “world leading” and represents an “exciting step forward for Australia’s digital infrastructure”. But details about the system are scarce. Shorten… Read more »
The federal government has unveiled a new science statement and accompanying priorities that include a focus on harnessing artificial intelligence for good and preparing for its impact. Minister for Industry Ed Husic released new versions of Australia’s National Science and Research Priorities, which will guide the nation’s public and private research focus and investment over… Read more »
The minister for government services, Bill Shorten, will unveil a new initiative that would allow people to have more control over the personal information they share. The scheme, called the Trust Exchange (TEx), would allow people to verify their identities and credentials based on official information already held by the federal government. The plan is… Read more »
The federal government says it will “reset” the Consumer Data Right (CDR) after three years to improve its uptake and make it cheaper to access. Assistant treasurer Stephen Jones is going back to the drawing board, opening a month-long consultation process, with Treasury releasing a paper on proposed changes to the consent and operational rules… Read more »
Next week, the Australian Parliament will cast a pivotal vote on advancing the Consumer Data Right (CDR) to Action Initiation. This decision could redefine consumer freedom and competition across the nation, making it one of the most significant moments in our history. What is Action Initiation? Action Initiation will enable consumers to take unprecedented control… Read more »
The federal government’s Boosting Female Founders (BFF) grant program was secretly killed off in the federal budget, with only two-thirds of the $52 million allocated spent. The program’s end with $17 million still in the kitty was reportedly the result of an internal review by the federal Department of Industry, Science, and Resources (DISR) that… Read more »
Social media is a problem for economists. They don’t know how to value it. It has long been argued that it ought to be in the national accounts as part of gross domestic product. One 2019 study estimated Facebook alone is worth US$40 to US$50 per month for consumers in the United States. But that’s… Read more »
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