News

Govt report on COVIDSafe app long overdue

A six-monthly report required by legislation on the effectiveness of COVIDSafe has still not been completed by the government, despite the contact tracing app launching more than a year...

Regulation ‘may be required’ for app stores: ACCC

The competition watchdog has fired a warning shot at Google and Apple, telling the tech giants to clean up their app stores now or face regulation which will make...

DTA’s new whole-of-government mandate in PM&C

The Digital Transformation Agency has a whole-of-government approach to data and digital policies in its new home in PM&C, employment minister Stuart Robert says. Despite his new role in...

NSW stands out in digital govt services survey

New South Wales led the way in improving digital government services across Australia during the pandemic, according to a new report by Salesforce which calls for more government data...

A mission to bring research and industry together

In May 1926, the Australian inventor of the Sunshine Harvester, Hugh McKay, died. His homegrown invention had created the largest factory in Australia at the time, peaking at 3,000...

Govt acts on just 3 of 13 data-sharing recommendations

The federal government only addressed three out of 13 recommendations from a Privacy Impact Assessment of its sweeping new data-sharing scheme in the final legislation presented to Parliament. The...

Qld govt funds 10 manufacturers’ pandemic pivot

The Queensland government diverted up to a third of its industry attraction program to support existing local manufacturers to pivot to COVID-19 supplies, including ventilators, masks and testing kits...

Victoria’s $60m manufacturing fund opens

Applications are now open for Victoria’s $60 million manufacturing fund, which aims to support and expand local industry and boost the state’s sovereign capability. The Manufacturing and Industry Development...

WA gets regional innovation hub

A government funded innovation hub has opened in Albany as part of the West Australian port city’s new innovation project, the first in the state outside of Perth. In...

Lack of media deals with small firms ‘concerning’: Sims

Smaller media companies should team up to secure commercial deals with Google and Facebook, which have so far avoided designation under the government’s big tech bargaining code yet, competition...

‘Robo-planning’ will ‘blow-up’ NDIS: key architect

The government’s planned NDIS independent assessments are akin to “robo-planning” and will “blow up” the crucial scheme, one of its key architects says.  Melbourne Disability Institute director Professor Bruce...

Climate policy gobbledegook costs local industry

The Guardian put it beautifully on Saturday when it said that ‘Australian smarts and Chinese industrial might make solar power the cheapest power humanity has seen’. This is the...

What the EH Holden can teach us about cybersecurity

The World Economic Forum recently pointed out that cyberattacks rank first among global human-caused risks and this year, it’s expected cybercrime will cost the world US $11.4 million each...

‘Language of innovation’ wraps fossil fuel subsidies

Australian governments are wrapping hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fossil fuel industry subsidies in “the language of innovation”, according to new analysis. The Australia Institute analysed Federal...