February
No way old-school Labor would have approved rail loop: ex-insider
Former Victorian Labor MP Tony Lupton is dismayed about the current government’s commitment to the $100 billion Suburban Rail Loop despite soaring state debt.
August 2024
Start-up founder sues Victoria’s VC fund
The Victorian government’s troubled venture capital fund Breakthrough Victoria faces a multi-million dollar legal battle.
Brumby urged to follow Breakthrough Victoria CEO out the door
The chief executive of the Victorian government’s Breakthrough Victoria fund, Grant Dooley, has resigned and backed an overhaul of the John Brumby-led board.
May 2024
R&D boost needed for Future Made in Australia plan to fly
Australian firms that develop innovative technologies say they are disincentivised to build their products in Australia and are calling for R&D incentive changes.
March 2024
Break or breakthrough: the red flags at Victoria’s VC fund
Breakthrough Victoria was formed after its now-chairman, John Brumby, called for the establishment of such a fund.
No plans to wind up embattled $2b VC fund: Pallas
Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas has hit back at calls to wind up the state’s venture capital fund, saying there isn’t enough private money to support start-ups.
Victorian government venture capital fund referred to auditor-general
The Allan government is standing by Breakthrough Victoria’s chairman John Brumby as the opposition claims the fund needs to be investigated.
‘Mass redundancies’: Vic government’s losing VC bet
A medical start-up heavily backed by the Victorian government’s troubled venture capital fund has run into trouble.
Board exodus: Vic government start-up fund spent $22m to invest $74m
Three directors of the state government-funded $2 billion Breakthrough Victoria venture fund are quitting amid calls for the fund to be wound up.
February 2024
John Brumby-chaired Citywide mulls options for waste arm
Gather, garbos! Melbourne council is weighing putting a sizeable waste management business on the auction block.
September 2023
Andrews leaves Victorian Labor firmly in power, but tarnished
His legacy as premier includes huge investments in infrastructure, the largest debt burden of any state and a record of division.
August 2023
How a former premier runs biggest – but least known – VC fund
Blackbird, AirTree and Square Peg are the big name local VCs, but none of them run a fund that is half the size of the mammoth $2 billion Breakthrough Victoria.
February 2023
Start-up that makes room-temp quantum computers banks $26m
The Victorian government and the CSIRO’s venture fund Main Sequence have put fresh capital behind Quantum Brilliance.
November 2022
Lobsters, Mount Everest and frequent liars kick off election games
Daniel Andrews was smiling and shaking hands to ’90s duo Moloko and their hit single Sing it Back [bring it back] as he launched a shot at the history books.
October 2021
How Bracks, Brumby, Baillieu and Kennett would fix Victoria
The two Labor and two Liberal leaders agreed rebuilding public confidence and a global strategy were key to restoring the state’s fortunes.
May 2021
John Wylie farewelled at State Library Victoria
Melbourne’s most cultured and most wealthy citizens turned out in force to farewell the outgoing chairman.
March 2021
John Brumby to lead $2b research fund in Victoria
The former premier says the fund will drive investment in businesses and jobs creation across five key sectors, focused on the state’s university precincts.
March 2020
Huawei beats an inevitable retreat
The Chinese telco giant's experiment of setting up a local board populated with heavy hitters to push its case in Canberra and win over the public ultimately failed, writes Jennifer Hewett.
January 2020
Jeff Kennett warns on bushfire donation chaos
Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett has warned that the $500 million in bushfire donations risks becoming a shambles unless governments step in to scrutinise the charity spending.
Donation warnings as fundraising efforts top $200m
The bushfire crisis has generated more than $200 million in donations as the public, business and philanthropists rush to give. But does that create new problems?