News

Another $2m spent on COVIDSafe app

The amount of government money provided to outside companies for development and maintenance work on the COVIDSafe contact tracing app has nearly doubled to $5 million, with new contracts...

Trust in govt surges through pandemic: Study

It has been a pretty safe bet, anecdotally at least, to say that trust in government has increased since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Researchers at Curtain University...

Clinical trials at risk due to RDTI cuts

Australia risks losing its competitive advantage in clinical trials and seeing companies move operations elsewhere if government goes ahead with its planned changes to the research and development tax...

More DTA contracts for BCG and KPMG

The Digital Transformation Agency has doubled the value of a contract with the Boston Consulting Group for “funding options analysis”, although the six-month duration of the contract period remains...

The case for stump-jump policy: O’Neil

Australians are dynamic. But the dynamism of our people is not reflected in our economy. We rely too much on what we dig out of the ground and grow....

Australia’s cyber bark is worse than its bite

The Australian government’s cybersecurity bark is worse than its bite, with a new report finding its intentions in cyber is not yet being matched by actual capability. The National...

Time for a COVIDSafe review: Edward Santow

It is time for a “rigorous and independent” analysis of the effectiveness of the federal government’s COVIDSafe contact tracing app to ensure it is working and worth the seven...

Tech ministers examine sovereign procurement

The federal government is looking at using its procurement power to boost local industry and is examining the work of the New South Wales government’s new sovereign procurement taskforce...

DTA releases COVIDSafe encryption details

The Digital Transformation Agency has finally released details of the encryption process behind its COVIDSafe contact tracing app, but no further information on the server used to store the...

Taskforce to scout for global tech companies

A new taskforce led by former Property Council chief Peter Verwer has been launched to attract promising FinTech and advanced manufacturing firms to Australia, as the federal government seeks...

Gilmour’s giant leap for sovereign space capability

Australian rocket company Gilmour Space Technologies has signed its first local customer for the maiden launch of its Eris rocket in 2022. The company has been contracted to deliver...

Justice Kirby on why we must fight for privacy

Former High Court Justice Michael Kirby recalls the one privacy principle he helped develop at the OECD in the late 1970s that was made redundant when Google emerged in...

Victorians bring in tech giants for tracing

The Victorian government has brought in tech giants IBM and Salesforce to digitise its contact tracing efforts, which is currently still using pen and paper methods. San Francisco-based Salesforce...

Building R&D capacity via targeted grants

The current economic crisis in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, has exposed the decay in Australia’s manufacturing capability and highlighted the need for increased investment in innovation. Innovation...