After the federal government committed hundreds of millions in funding to PsiQuantum as part of a $940 million deal to bring the US quantum computing startup to Brisbane, many in the startup sector are wondering if that’s the start of a golden for Commonwealth cash, or the equivalent of blowing you night out budget on… Read more »
Rumours that the federal government was looking at dramatically ramping up the thresholds to qualify for the wholesale investor test sent shockwaves through the startup sector at the start of 2024. The purported changes being considered as Treasury looked into the issue were increasing the asset threshold to $4.5 million, up from $2.5m, with the… Read more »
The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages within. But that was not to be, for the government – which has the largest debt of all the states and territories… Read more »
The Victorian government is cutting funding for its sovereign venture fund, Breakthrough Victoria, by $90 million annually over the next four year, today’s state budget reveals. The reduction in capital allocation for the $2 billion fund comes amid sustained criticism and a high profile media campaign by the likes of Adir Shiffman, chair of ASX-listed… Read more »
Australia’s startup industry is entitled to ask itself what are the government’s expectations when it comes to technology? While some of the government’s moves around Big Tech have been encouraging, proposed changes to mergers and acquisitions requirements will likely have a chilling effect on dealmaking and investment in our local startup industry. What’s happened? Last… Read more »
Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask themselves whether they are equally happy for courts in China, Russia and Iran to determine what Australians can see and post online in Australia.… Read more »
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has ordered social media platform “X” (formerly known as Twitter) to remove graphic videos of the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in Sydney last week from the site. The incident was captured on the church’s livestreamed mass service. In response to this order, X’s owner, Elon Musk, has branded the commissioner… Read more »
Australia is a trading nation. Its economy relies on a strong and open global trade environment. Australian governments have historically rejected protectionist industrial policies that undermine fair competition, and Canberra has long been a staunch advocate of the World Trade Organisation, whose rules help “promote and protect the open global trading system”. Yet Labor has… Read more »
FinTech Australia is calling on the Federal government to address the challenging capital raising environment for startups and renew its support for Austrade’s effort to promote our local sector abroad. In its pre-budget submission tabled ahead of federal treasurer Jim Chalmers announcing his 2024 Budget on May 14, FinTech Australia CEO Rehan D’Almeida said the… Read more »
After a year in power, NSW Premier Chris Minns has decided to put Investment NSW under his watch, along with the Office of the Chief Scientist, amid a restructure of the NSW Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade (DEIT) that will see its demise. The state government announced the shakeup on Friday afternoon, claiming that… Read more »
The federal government will directly intervene to support and subsidise key growth areas such as clean energy and innovative technologies in a significant policy shift that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will take to the next election. In a speech to the Queensland Press Club on Thursday, Albanese set out a “more strategic and more sophisticated”… Read more »
Accounting tricks are helping Big Tech firms avoid paying tax on up to 96.6% of their Australian income, according to a new analysis of Australian Taxation Office (ATO) figures that showed Apple was the worst offender when it came to corporate tax minimisation. The tech giant took $9.3 billion from Australian customers during the 2021-22… Read more »
Here’s an astonishing figure. While a third of Australian households have solar power, making us the world leader on adoption, just 1% of those panels are locally made, even thought we invented the technology. So the federal government is hoping to transform the coal mining Hunter Valley region, north of Sydney, into a solar manufacturing… Read more »
Nearly a quarter of the way through its first term, the NSW government has opened submissions for its Innovation Blueprint, seeking to make its support for the sector “more collaborative”. After NSW minister for innovation, science and technology, Anoulack Chanthivong announced plans for an Innovation Blueprint last September, six months after taking on the portfolio,… Read more »
Advocates believe a perfect storm of competition concerns, new fuel efficiency standards and the axing of archaic parallel-import restrictions could provide “achievable change” that boosts the supply of electric vehicles (EVs) and slashes their prices by around $9,000. That’s the amount Australians are overpaying for EVs, former ACCC chair Allan Fels concluded in a recent analysis of price… Read more »
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