Authorities in Brazil, the country with the world’s fifth largest number of internet users, have banned the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). The ban came into effect over the weekend. It followed a long-running battle between Elon Musk, the owner of X, and Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes who had… Read more »
Bunnings CEO Michael Schneider, former Tech Council CEO Kate Pounder and ex-NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet turned BHP advisor are among a new board members of a new political think tank led by Square Peg’s Paul Bassat. Amplify is a non-partisan organisation, independent of political parties, and says it’s seeking to find the “uncommon ground” on… Read more »
The Victorian capital’s 30-month trial of renting e-scooters on the city streets will end after the council killed off their use in a majority vote. City of Melbourne councillors voted 6-4 to end the contracts with Lime and Neuron, having trialed their use since February 2022. Lord mayor Nicholas Reece led the charge against them,… Read more »
Donald Trump is not the problem. Sure, I cant believe I wrote that either. But here we are. Oh how I long to live in uninteresting times… I mean, not really. As a middle-aged, single woman, we have never had a more privileged position than we do today. Previous centuries can get in the trash.… Read more »
The government has handed down its budget for 2024–25. It’s delivered a $9.3 billion surplus for the financial year just about to finish but is forecasting a $28.3 billion deficit for next year. Here are the key points: Erin Cooper-Douglas, Deputy Politics + Society Editor, The Conversation and Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer, The Conversation… Read more »
The answer to “how to you eat a shit sandwich?” when it comes to politics is: “With a grin”. The startup sector put on a brave face tonight following the 2024 federal budget. There were some big ticket items, but two years into its 3-year term, Labor offered little to tech specifically as it focused… 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 »
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 »
Government-backed investment fund Breakthrough Victoria has defended itself against critics wanting it abolished saying it wants to “fundamentally reshape the innovation landscape”. The $2 billion VC fund, launched in 2021, and chaired by former Labor premier John Brumby, has been subject to a sustained media campaign for it to be dismantled, led by Adir Shiffman,… Read more »
Social media firms are offering “a product that’s killing people” and their CEOs have “blood on their hands” for failing to protect children from online predators, a US senator has told five tech executives during vitriolic hearings in which Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was forced to apologise to angry families of victims of online child grooming.… Read more »
The NSW startup sector has responded with dismay after the NSW government suddenly shut down a range of funding programs for early-stage companies in the wake of an expenditure review by the new Labor government. Popular programs such as the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) grant have been put on hold “as part of the sector-wide… Read more »
Australian innovation has the capacity to protect us – our environment, our digital world, our borders and our health. All of these are focuses of this year’s federal budget. But the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sector has been sounding the alarm for years that our research system is in crisis. Reviews in progress… Read more »
New South Wales voters go to the polls this Saturday to decide who’ll lead the nation’s most populous state for the next four years. The Coalition has been in charge since 2011 and the consensus is that this election is too close to call, with the potential for another minority government – something current premier… Read more »
Victor Dominello won’t be NSW government minister cutting the ribbon on the fruits of several years of hard work building the Digital ID app. The member for Ryde retires from politics after 15 years when NSW voters go to the polls on March 25. But for the past several years he’s been driving digital innovation… Read more »
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