News

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...

Data localisation could limit compute access: Google

Australia’s access to cutting-edge compute capabilities would be restricted if the federal government was to introduce data localisation requirements for certain sensitive datasets, according to Google’s local public policy...

Govt’s tech advisory council finalising AI plan

The experts charged with providing the Prime Minister with advice on technology have been examining artificial intelligence and a potential government response for the last month, with findings expected...

National Quantum Strategy won’t be raining dollars

Federal Industry minister Ed Husic has dampened expectations of a big pool of new money being attached to the looming National Quantum Strategy, saying the government is taking a...

Indigenous scientist Alex Brown appointed to CSIRO board

Professor Alex Brown has been appointed to the CSIRO board of directors, becoming the first Indigenous scientist to serve on the national science agency’s board and the Albanese government’s...

Husic opens door to innovation metrics response

A buried report on improving innovation measurement and policy decisions may yet receive a government response, with Industry minister Ed Husic on Wednesday saying he is “absolutely happy to...

Batteries now worth $17bn to the economy by 2030: FBICRC

The Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre has more than doubled its 2030 forecast for the value of a diversified battery industry to the Australian economy to $16.9 billion,...

Global innovation leaders to gather in Sydney

Even though innovation is highly prized among senior executives, many still don’t know how to inculcate it at an organisational level.  The inaugural Leading Innovation Summit 2023, sponsored by...

NSW govt flexes AI policies in wake of ChatGPT

Past efforts to address “less impressive” forms of artificial intelligence have helped the New South Wales government respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by ChatGPT, according to the...