O75 Public Administration

Quantum leap into a danger zone

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Original article by Sarah Elks
The Australian – Page: 5 : 20-May-24

Quantum Brilliance’s co-founder Marcus Doherty says the federal government should invest in a broad range of quantum computing technologies, rather than backing a single project. The federal and Queensland governments recently committed nearly $1bn to PsiQuantum’s project to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer in Brisbane. Doherty contends that government agencies should invest in the quantum computing technology that best meets their needs; he notes that the Department of Defence in particular will probably require quantum computers that are portable, whereas PsiQuantum’s proposed photonics-based quantum computer is expected to be the size of a large warehouse.

CORPORATES
QUANTUM BRILLIANCE, PSQUANTUM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE

Tax reform needed to break economic inertia

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 20-May-24

A new report from the Liberal-aligned thinktank Blueprint Institute has called for various reforms to Australia’s tax system in order to put an end to what it calls the nation’s economic inertia. The thinktank’s proposals include a tax on the unimproved value of land, a reduction in the company tax rate to 25 per cent, the scrapping of state-based payroll taxes and increasing the GST to 15 per cent, along with expanding the goods and services that it applies to. The Blueprint Institute claims that an extra $60 billion a year could be raised if the GST is increased to 15 per cent and its base is broadened.

CORPORATES
BLUEPRINT INSTITUTE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Social media limits backed

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Original article by Isabella Pesch
The Australian – Page: 3 : 20-May-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has expressed support for imposing age limits on children’s use of social media. Albanese says that many parents are "worried sick" that their children have access to inappropriate material online, while they are also concerned about the mental health effects of social media. He adds that News Corp’s campaign for children under the age of 16 to be restricted from having social media accounts is a "really positive response" to the issue.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Dutton plan risks $48b foreign student industry

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Original article by Julie Hare
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 18-May-24

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has come under fire for stating that a Coalition government would reduce temporary migration to 160,000 in its first year in office. International students make up half of the number of temporary migrants, and migration expert Abul Rizvi claims that one student would have to leave the country for every one that arrives in order to meet Dutton’s target. International education was valued at $48 billion in 2023, making it Australia’s most successful non-mining export, and Rizvi claims that the international education sector would be "smashed" under Dutton’s plan.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Quantum leap into a danger zone

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Original article by Sarah Elks
The Australian – Page: 5 : 20-May-24

Quantum Brilliance’s co-founder Marcus Doherty says the federal government should invest in a broad range of quantum computing technologies, rather than backing a single project. The federal and Queensland governments recently committed nearly $1bn to PsiQuantum’s project to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer in Brisbane. Doherty contends that government agencies should invest in the quantum computing technology that best meets their needs; he notes that the Department of Defence in particular will probably require quantum computers that are portable, whereas PsiQuantum’s proposed photonics-based quantum computer is expected to be the size of a large warehouse.

CORPORATES
QUANTUM BRILLIANCE, PSQUANTUM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE

Tax reform needed to break economic inertia

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 20-May-24

A new report from the Liberal-aligned thinktank Blueprint Institute has called for various reforms to Australia’s tax system in order to put an end to what it calls the nation’s economic inertia. The thinktank’s proposals include a tax on the unimproved value of land, a reduction in the company tax rate to 25 per cent, the scrapping of state-based payroll taxes and increasing the GST to 15 per cent, along with expanding the goods and services that it applies to. The Blueprint Institute claims that an extra $60 billion a year could be raised if the GST is increased to 15 per cent and its base is broadened.

CORPORATES
BLUEPRINT INSTITUTE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence virtually unchanged before pre-election Federal Budget set to be handed down

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-May-24

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence was virtually unchanged at 80.2 in the week to 12 May. The index has now spent a record 67 straight weeks below the mark of 85. Consumer Confidence is now 4.3 points above the same week a year ago (75.9), but 2.3 points below the 2024 weekly average of 82.5. Consumer Confidence was down in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, but up slightly in New South Wales and Queensland. Now 20% of Australians (unchanged) say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 50% (down 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’. Looking forward, 32% (unchanged) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 33% (also unchanged) expect to be ‘worse off’. Now 9% (unchanged) of Australians expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 33% (down 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. Meanwhile, 19% (down 2ppts) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items (the lowest figure for this indicator so far this year), while 52% (up 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’ (the highest figure for this indicator so far this year).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Taxman’s take about to hit an 18-year high

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 2 : 15-May-24

The 2024 budget papers have revealed that total tax receipts as a share of GDP will increase from 23.5 per cent in 2022-23 to 23.8 per cent in 2023-24, making it the highest share since 2005-06. The impact of the stage three tax cuts will then see total taxation receipts as a share of GDP decline to 23.3 per cent in 2024-25. Australians will pay $299.4 billion in income tax in 2023-24, with that figure falling to $293.7 billion in 2024-25 as a result of the tax cuts taking effect.

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War crimes whistleblower jailed for nearly six years

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Original article by Michael Pelly
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 15-May-24

Defence whistleblower David McBride will spend a minimum of 27 months in prison for providing classified military documents to journalists. The ACT Supreme Court has sentenced McBride to five years and eight months in jail, and he will be eligible for parole in August 2026. Justice David Mossop said the former military lawyer’s actions were a "gross breach of trust" of his position in the Australian Defence Force, and others must be deterred from engaging in similar conduct. The leaked documents were subsequently used as the basis for a series of media reports on Australian solders’ alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

CORPORATES
SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY, AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE

Purge of consultants heralds public service jobs boom

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 11 : 15-May-24

The number of federal public servants has increased from 173,142 to more than 197,000 since Labor took office in May 2022. The budget papers show that the number of public servants is forecast to rise by 12,042 over the next year, while this is on track to be 36,000 higher than in 2021-22. The growth in public service numbers is at least partly due to the government’s push to reduce the cost of using external consultants, with thousands of these roles to be converted into in-house positions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY