Australia could soon have some form of high-speed rail network connecting capital cities on the East coast – at the very least we’ll have a dedicated agency for thinking about laying some extra tracks for fast trains. Transport Minister Catherine King introduced a bill to parliament on Thursday to create the High-Speed Rail Authority which,… Read more »
The Australia government will offer 6,800 extra permanent migration places for tech sector workers as part of a major boost to migration this financial year. Immigration, citizenship and multicultural affairs minister Andrew Giles announced the increase during the Jobs and Skills Summit last Friday. An extra 35,000 people will be accepted in 2022-23 taking the… Read more »
Industry lobby group the Tech Council of Australia (TCA) has stuck a deal with peak union group the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) to work together on ramping up local tech jobs and improve digital skills. The agreement between the ACTU and Tech Council came out of Wednesday’s Digital and Tech roundtable organised by… Read more »
On August 9, 2022, Australia’s COVIDSafe app was officially decommissioned, and all its features removed. People were encouraged to uninstall the app. Reports of its closure have made international news. On ceasing COVIDSafe, health minister Mark Butler said the “Albanese government acted to delete the wasteful and ineffective COVIDSafe app” and accused the former government… Read more »
Federal Industry and Science minister Ed Husic is hosting a series of roundtables this week with tech sector leaders to discuss their economic and employment challenges ahead of the Jobs and Skills Summit in September. The five roundtables this Wednesday to Friday cover the following themes: science and commercialisation (August 17) digital and tech skills… Read more »
The Albanese government has introduced tax cuts to electric vehicles in its first sitting week, claiming the proposed changes would be “good for motorists, good for climate action and good for fleet purchases”. They won’t, however, help most Australians afford one. Labor plans to stop the “fringe benefits tax” applying to electric vehicles. This tax… Read more »
The Queensland Government has earmarked $142 million for a new tech roadmap designed to drive innovation in the decade leading up to the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said that the new Advance Queensland – Innovation for a Future Economy 2022-2032 roadmap builds on the success of our existing Advance Queensland innovation… Read more »
The tech sector should be presenting a united front to highlight the importance of digital technologies to society and the economy, Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Ed Husic, said in Canberra this week. Speaking at the national launch of the 2022 ACS’ Digital Pulse report at the National Press Club, Minister Husic called on technology sector… Read more »
New Zealand fintech startups have already had a major impact in Australia, from Xero to more recent arrivals such as Hnry. In a sign that the Kiwi onslaught is set to gather pace, NZ Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, crossed The Ditch this week, leading a trade mission to Melbourne and Sydney. Having just returned from Europe with… Read more »
The government mishandled $163 million worth of contracts for the Entrepreneurs’ Programme by favouring incumbents, not measuring tender applicants against the stated criteria, and failing to mitigate against conflicts of interest, a report from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has found. In 2019, the Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources (DISER) put service provision… Read more »
Government-owned Breakthrough Victoria is tipping $100 million in pre-seed funding into startups at the state’s universities looking to commercialise research. Premier Dan Andrews and treasurer Tim Pallas set up the $2 billion Breakthrough Victoria fund, chaired by former premier John Bracks, as an independent investment fund manager investing in commercial innovations in health, technology, manufacturing,… Read more »
The NSW government is establishing a collaboration between leading Sydney universities and the CSIRO to improve the state’s sovereign semiconductor capability to support critical local industries including health, defence and telecommunications. The Semiconductor Sector Service Bureau (S3B) brings together leading experts from the University of Sydney, Macquarie University, UNSW Sydney, Australia’s national science agency CSIRO and the… Read more »
The NSW government is establishing a new $703 million investment fund to back fast-growing local companies in the medtech, digital tech and clean economy spaces. Treasurer Matt Kean announced the Future Economy Fund in Tuesday’s state budget as “a once-in-a-generation chance” aimed at the full life cycle of innovative, high-growth business in priority sectors and… Read more »
NSW Treasurer and energy minister Matt Kean has announced another $38 million in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles on the eve of the state budget. With Kean handing down the 2022-23 NSW Budget on Tuesday, June 21, the pro-EV Treasurer announced the extra funds, taking the state’s EV investment to $633 million under its NSW… Read more »
The new federal financial services minister Stephen Jones says the Labor government will regulate cryptocurrency exchanges, as well as applying credit laws to the buy now, pay later (BNPL) sector. Speaking to the Guardian Australia, Jones vowed to continue the roadmap drawn up by the previous government and former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, consulting with the… Read more »
Atlassian shares plunge after another quarterly loss
We asked ChatGPT to explain 9 epic startup failures, including FTX & Fast, to VC investors – and most of the answers are bullshi… er, bullish
Workplace coaching platform Fingerprint for Success raises $6.5 million
Quantum startup Q-CTRL lands $39 million in Series B top up led by Salesforce Ventures
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