News

Pocock flags support for $15bn reconstruction fund

Independent Senator for the Australian Capital Territory David Pocock is set to support the National Reconstruction Fund bill, with his proposed amendments expected to be backed by the government...

Pezzullo says data localisation will benefit local sector

Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo says data localisation requirements currently under consideration by the federal government could prove fruitful for the local data storage and processing sector in Australia....

Top bureaucrats mull NSW-like digital fund for Canberra

A panel of Canberra’s most senior bureaucrats are weighing an investment vehicle modelled on the New South Wales government’s Digital Restart Fund to support federal digital projects outside of...

Proposed energy transition authority hits Senate roadblock

A Greens proposal to establish a National Energy Transition Authority has been shot down by a Senate committee report, although an alternative coordinating body for the transition to renewable...

Tech consultants caught in redundancy wave

Tech job redundancies are continuing across the economy, with Accenture, the consulting arm of IBM, and Amazon the latest to confirm cuts. The cuts add to the job losses...

Cold supply chains: Levins on pitching at SXSW 2023

When I interview Paul Levins, he is sitting in Spanish villa-style ranch house in a small community about an hour’s drive north of Austin, Texas, where he has been...

Uphill climb for NSW Labor’s rail manufacturing revive

Independent costings of NSW Labor’s election promise to revive domestic rail manufacturing cast doubt on the ambitious plan, finding any actual train buys are so far in the future...

Productivity Commission ignores capabilities Australia already has

Productivity and competition go hand in hand, so it’s no great surprise that the Productivity Commission’s (PC) five-yearly productivity inquiry doesn’t advocate for increased sovereign capability across the Australian...

NSW Labor’s procurement reforms ‘cost neutral’

Improving small business access to government tendering and significantly increasing the number of contracts going to the smaller suppliers would have a neutral impact on the state Budget, according...

Second review of $1.3bn MMI grants program on the cards

Australia’s national auditor is contemplating a review of the former Morrison government’s $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative despite an earlier internal review commissioned by Labor clearing the grant selections....

Australian-made rockets support space sector resilience: NASA

Australian rockets and wider launch capabilities would build resilience for the United States’ and Australian space sectors according to NASA’s leaders, who also advocated for government support for developing...

NSW Coalition taps digital fund for election pledges

The New South Wales Coalition will siphon money from the state’s already diminished Digital Restart Fund to pay for the technology underpinning its election policies if re-elected on the...