Australia snubs Bitcoin and other technologies on budget. Most countries are drawn to Bitcoin and other technologies, but the lack of mention has disappointed Australians.
We didn’t expect any changes to the budget the week before the treasurer’s speech on Tuesday and the traditional Thursday night sequel by opposition leader Peter Dutton. The parties have been talking about the technology industry for a while on topics such as how to harness the AI boom, protecting Australians from fraud and cracking down on cybercrime.
Nevertheless, most involved understood that pre-election budgets had a sense of realism. For example, they had to talk about shaking voters on their side, like tax cuts and energy prices. Though expectations were very low, budget week remains the most surprising, but even the most dedicated realists in the tech industry were worried.
Australian political parties cut bitcoin and other technologies in budget
One core note to mention is that Tech was not the winner of the Labour Party’s budget. It cannot be said that it is really bad because the budget did not accurately cut major cuts on other aspects. More precisely, the parties ignored technology and vaguely mentioned aspects such as AI, cybersecurity, quantum and online safety. Furthermore, new spending was not allocated to the aspects mentioned in the budget.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton also followed the same path two days later, with vague references to his skills in his budget. Dutton has committed to encouraging new areas of the economy, including areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation, space, cybersecurity, nanotechnology, and biotechnology.
The biggest budget complaint is the failure to acknowledge artificial intelligence, and none of them discuss whether to boost technology or make it safe for Australians. Electronic Frontier Australia (EFA) Chairman John Payne expressed disappointment with the budget. “Australia is the last signatories (towards the Seoul AI Summit Declaration) to launch an AI safety agency or regulatory authority,” Payne said.
Many were waiting for updates from the AI Safety Institute, which the state had promised to establish in May 2024, but remained disappointed that it had not been mentioned. I am also very concerned that the country has not yet published plans for AI regulation. Minister of Science and Industry Ed Fushik said the government was trying to implement AI regulations in January but has been quiet about the issue ever since.
Quantum computing and other sectors are also missing out
AI is not the only sector ignored by budgets, and quantum computing has not even been seen as much as mentioned. Furthermore, there was no mention of spending on government flagship technology policies, teenage social media bans, or news media negotiation incentives (known as The Tech Tax). Cybersecurity only mentioned previous spending, with $60 million helping small businesses protect themselves from data breaches.
Evan Vodis, cyber director at cybersecurity firm NSB Cyber, showed his disappointment over the lack of notes on budget and cybersecurity. “The 2025 federal budget treats cybersecurity as background noise,” he said. He also added that the government needs to change its approach and take more decisive action in the sector.
Another major loser of technology is the research and development (R&D) space. Husic said he pointed out that Australia’s investment in R&D had plummeted last month and that this trend must stop. However, the budget released this week showed that the government would revert R&D tax cuts to $640 million over the next four years.
A spokesman for Husic also said the federal government has made core investments in the tech sector, focusing on the $500 million allocated to Psiquantum to build the world’s first quantum computer in Brisbane, announced last year. “In the past few weeks, our $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund has invested around $100 million in Australian tech companies, the world’s leading Australian tech companies in Quantum, AI and cybersecurity as a whole,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman also designated the feat the government hopes to achieve in the next five years in the tech sector. “We spent the first terminology laying the foundations of a prosperous technology sector to set 1.2 million high-tech jobs by 2030 and establishing the first national strategy for robotics and quantum,” the spokesman added.
Major regulatory funds recovered after last year’s cuts
One of the budgetary reliefs was a resilience of funding from regulators, the Australian Information Commissioner (OIAC). The Privacy Commissioner had previously taken action against the AI facial recognition company Clearview. The committee member condemned the company for its privacy violation. Action has also been taken against the social media company Meta surrounding the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Regulators have lost 35 full-time staff in a more targeted approach to enforcement after a $11.1 million cut in their final budget. The current budget has pledged to restore a large portion of the cuts budget and provide $8.7 million over three years to support enforcement action, $5.3 million to promote the Digital Identity and Identity Verification Services program, and $2.3 million to implement monitoring of my health records from 2025.
The government’s funding agency for online safety regulators remained static, with some minor cuts expected to occur over the next few years. Although it remains to be seen that the parties are likely to shake voters after Hi-TexNub, the sector and officials are hoping for new funds for the sector during the campaign prior to the May 3rd election. However, low expectations have been sank since this week.
